Love me or Hate me
by 2-Cold
Summary: First fic ever. The Bladebreaker are attending an invite-only competition when two of them are taken out. One player short now, they recruit Nika to stay in the tournament. The girl cant blade, but Kai decides to help her out. Full sum inside. plz R&R!
1. Chapter 1

So hi everyone! This is the first fic I ever started writing. I started it years ago and recently picked it back up to continue. I hope it's somewhat enjoyable to read,…please let me know! Just FYI as per someone's suggestion, I may end up rewriting the first few chapters, as personally, I think they aren't as good as the later chapters. Ok, On with the summary!

**Summary: **The Bladebreakers/ G-Rev team are attending an invite-only competition. Shortly after arriving, Max has to leave and Daichi gets hurt and cant blade. One player short, the team needs to forfeit or find a replacement blader ASAP. Enter Nika! The girl can't blade to save her life, but Kai puts some one-on-one time in with her to help get her skills up. What happens after Nika joins the team is anyone's guess, but rest assured, things never go as planed. Eventual KaixNika…maybe?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything Beyblade. Nika is mine, but that's about it.

Well there ya have it! Sooo….On with the story!

**- Love Me or Hate Me -**

Kai stood up with a sigh. He was one of the last to get off the bus at the hotel.

"_Figures nobody took their luggage off with them_" he thought as he picked up his teammates bags.

"Hey Kai! Get out here and take a look at all this!" shouted Tyson.

"NO!" Kai shouted back. "I'm too busy getting all you crap off this bus so it can leave you ass."

Kai shook his head. Of course Tyson didn't stick around long enough to hear him. He was way too hyped up right now for any rational thinking. Max and Dachi weren't helping the situation either. They must have eaten about 5 pounds of sugar on the 12 hour trip.

Kai bent down to pick up another bag.

"_Dang, how much stuff did these idiots bring_?" he thought as he straightened up and met Hiro's amused face looking at him from the doorway.

"Picking up after the kids?" he asked.

"Yeah, they obviously don't realize that other people have things to do" Kai answered with a nod towards the bus driver.

"Tell me about it." Hiro said with a roll of his eyes. "Ya know what, put the bags down. I'll get them in here to clean up. As the team captain, you really need to take a look around here yourself."

Kai nodded as he dropped all the bags but his own to the floor. "Alright. Thanks. Hey Rei, ya wanna come with me?" he asked the neko-jin. "Rei?"

Kai walked to the back of the bus where his teammate was and found that he was sleeping.

"Hey Rei, we're here. It's time to get up." He paused for a moment as the boy stirred. "I'm going to take a look around, you coming?"

Rei slowly opened his eyes. "Uh…yeah. Just let me get my stuff first."

Kai nodded. "K. I'll see you outside in a few."

Kai stepped off the bus and was met with blinding sunlight. The site before him really was amazing. (Other than the fact that Tyson was still running from Hiro, it was perfect.) They were staying a first rate hotel and the care that went into this place was clearly visible. The grounds were impeccable and the buildings were immaculate. The view of the ocean was so breathtaking; Kai couldn't help thinking that this place must have cost a fortune to buy. As he let his gaze wander, he noticed the new bey-stadium in all it glory. It was huge, the biggest in North America. But despite all its attributes (and there are many), Kai frowned. It looked out of place here. And why pick these particular grounds for an invite-only competition?

"It's very possible that the stadium will never be used again, so why put it here?" Kai mused as; once again, the uneasy feeling of "something's not right" crept upon him.

"Wow. This place is beautiful." Kai turned to see Rei standing behind him with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"Mmm…yeah I guess." Kai answered with a shrug. "It's too fancy for my liking, but…"

Rei laughed. "Kai, don't you like anything?"

"_Of course I do_!" Kai thought. "_You just don't understand_…" Out loud what he said was, "Are you quite finished? I have to look around this place, and I want to get it over with so let's go!"

Rei watched as the other boy started to walk away and with a sad shake of his head, followed him.

When Kai and Rei finished looking around, they made their way back towards the main entrance.

"Well, if nothing else we won't get bored while we're here!" Rei exclaimed. "I mean, they have 5 tennis courts, 2 baseball fields, and a bowling ally. They have everything here! Even an arcade!"

"Uh-huh. Yeah. They have enough activities here to keep an entire school of kids busy for a month of Sunday's. But that's not gonna help us with training. You have to stay focused if we're going to win this competition." Kai retorted.

"_What's his problem_?" Rei thought. "Yeah, you're right I guess. But this place really is nice." He said out loud.

"Whatever. I'll see you inside later. I have to check out one more thing" Kai said as he walked off.

Rei almost started to follow him but then thought better of it. It was painfully obvious that the other boy wanted to be alone for whatever it was he was going to do. If it was appropriate, Rei would ask him later what he was up to…but even if Kai is in a good mood, it's risky. Still brooding, Rei walked into the hotel to meet up with the rest of the team.

Kai waited until Rei went inside before he made his way back to the bey-stadium. It was obvious that no one was allowed inside just yet. There was a huge sign that said, "Keep out. Absolutely NO admittance until day of tournament. (Authorized personal only.)" And as if that wasn't enough, there were guards at the front doors. But Kai wasn't going to the front doors. He had looked around carefully and found that, done correctly, he could get in at the back thought a window. It was risky, but he had to know who was inside. There were people, or rather a person, inside he was sure. He was determined to find out who it is and what they were doing.

When he got the foot of the tree he had to climb to get in, he sighed.

"What the hell am I doing…" he murmured as he reached out for the first branch.

As he continued to climb the tree, he had a mental argument with himself.

"I mean, even if I manage to get inside, what am I gonna do? Tell the person inside to get out because no one is allowed in yet? Yeah right, that will go over real well. Oh why couldn't I just let it go? I never used to be this nosey. Wait, I'm not being nosey. I'm looking out for my team. If someone is getting an advantage, I need to know about it so I can report it. But why should I have to stick my neck out like this? If those darn guards were doing their job, I would not need to be doing this. " ...and so on until he reached the branch he needed to stop at.

"_O.k.…here goes nothing_!" he thought as he jumped, cat like, from the tree to the window. Amazingly, he didn't fall.

"_Perfect_." He thought as he slowly opened the window and carefully climbed inside.

If the outside of the building was nice, the inside was magnificent. Everything about this place had perfection written all over it. Kai did a quick survey, ignoring the remarkable architecture of the building, and started the climb down to the floor. When he reached the bottom though, he froze. Standing at the other end of the room was a girl. Her back was to him, but he didn't need to see her face to tell that she was beautiful. She was about 5'6" and had a body to die for. She was wearing black jeans, a white T-shirt and had her long black hair tied back in a pony-tail.

Kai blinked once and swallowed hard. "_Oh crap_." He thought. Shaking his head slightly, he moved to a place where he could better see what she was doing. Once he had moved, he could see that she was holding a bey-blade and a launcher. She stood in front of a dish and prepared to launch the blade.

"3...2...1...LET IT RIP!"

Kai winced as he watched her. Her form was terrible and her timing was way off. It was painful (to say the least) to watch her.

"Didn't _anyone ever show her how to use that thing_?" he wondered. "_Ugh…guess not_." He watched as she went to pick up her blade and re-launch it.

After watching her do this about 7 or 8 times, he couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and started to

walk.

"Why can't I get this right?" she thought desperately. "It always looks so easy when other people do it!" She adjusted the black fingertip-less gloves on her hands and prepared to launch again. "If they can do it so can I! (sigh) The only thing is I've been at this for an hour already and I'm not getting any better! The longest I've been able to keep this darn thing spinning is 10 seconds! Well, if practice makes perfect…I'll just keep at it!"

"3…2…1…LET IT…"

"Don't you dare launch it like that!"

The girl gave a shriek and spun around, accidentally launching the blade at the head of the person behind her.

Kai lifted his hand and deftly caught the blade as it came hurling towards him.

"I told you not to launch it." he said.

The girl just stood there with her mouth open. "_Oh no! This is not cool!" _she thought.

"You got a name?" Kai asked holding the blade out to the girl. When she didn't take it, he sighed. "I'm Kai. Are you gonna take your blade or are you just gonna stand there?"

"Erm…I uh…How did you get in here?" the girl asked as she took her blade back.

"I came in the back way. Your name?"

"Oh. It's Nika" the girl responded looking down.

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Born on a Sunday huh?

Nika looked up at him, shocked.

Kai shrugged "I'm Russian too."

"I see." Nika said lowering her gaze again. There was an awkward moment of silence before Kai asked:

"So, what the heck are you doing in here anyway?"

"Huh? Oh, I was…um…practicing?" she answered.

"Are you telling me or asking me?"

"Telling…I mean…ugh. You wanna sit down?" Nika asked pointing to a bench.

"Nah, I'm fine. So…you seemed to be having a hard time before. You want some help?"

"WHAT? YOU would help ME!" Nika shrieked.

Kai took a step back, startled by her reaction. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

"Nobody ever wants to help me with this…they all say I can't do it. I've been trying for so long…"

"It's never too late. Come on, I'll show you what you're doing wrong."

Kai stood behind her and took her hand in his.

"_Oh my gosh! He's sooooo sweet_!" Nika thought

Kai started the lesson…"Alright now listen…"

For the next hour, Kai had a very hard time staying focused. He had be close to the girl to show her what to do. Very close. He stood behind her almost the whole time, going through the motion of a proper launch, and the importance of good form. But Kai was fighting with himself most of the time

"_It's just like anybody else. She's no different than the girls you see on the street. She's…she's…damn she's hot. No! You can't let yourself think that! If you really do care about her, you'll forget her. After you leave, forget her. It's that simple. Just forget about her beautiful face and her hair and…and…oh damn it! I got to go sit down!"_

"Uh…Nika, I think you should try by yourself now. I'm gonna go sit down."

"O.K! I think I'm ready!"

Kai sat down and watched her as she executed a perfect launch.

"Good! Now again!"

Shortly thereafter, a very pleased Nika sat down next to Kai.

"Wow. That was so much fun! I can't believe what a great time I had!"

"Mmhhmm. It's not that hard to learn, but it's take a while to perfect."

"I guess, but I had a really good teacher. Thank you." Nika put her hand on Kai's knee. "I really appreciated what you did."

"Sure…no problem. Hey, I hate to cut this short, but I should get back to my team. They're probably wonder-"

"What time is it!" Nika interrupted jumping up.

"Uh…about ten after seven. Why?"

"YIKES! I have to go get ready for the orientation! Come on!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Kai asked as Nika pulled him up to his feet.

"I'm gonna kill those darn guards! They were supposed to come get me at ten of! Damn it!" Nika started dragging Kai towards the front doors.

"WAIT!" Kai shouted. "What is going on?"

Nika stopped. "The orientation. It's when I introduce myself and thank you all for coming to my competition!"

"YOUR competition?"

"Yeah, I own this whole place! So it's mine."

"Oh." "_Shit! She must think I'm a total ass now!" "O.K, well, why don't you let me go out first? If the guards didn't come and get you, maybe something's wrong. If I'm not back in five, call for help." Before she could protest, Kai walked towards the front doors._

"_Be careful!" she shouted._

_Kai just lifted his hand in a silent acknowledgement._


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! For those of you who have read the first chapter, Thank you for comming back to read chapter two:) That makes me happy :) For you first time readers...Thank you for considering this worthy of your time. This also makes me happy :) Now...please R&R.I will not update till I get some reviews. So there... **

**And now...On with the story! **

**And yes, I do own BeyBlades. So everyone else better bug off! jk...I don't own anything :( lol**

**Chapter 2**

Kai walked outside and took a deep breath. The evening air was refreshing after being inside, even if the air was humid. All of Kai's senses were alert as he looked around. The guards were nowhere to be seen.

Kai frowned _"That's not good."_

He cautiously took a few more steps out and looked for any signs of the guards. A small glint on the ground near some shrubs caught his eye.

"What the…?" Kai mumbled.

As he got closer he realized it was a pair of sunglasses that had been smashed.

"_The same kind the guards were wearing."_ Kai quickly looked around for whoever had done this.

Too late. Something came crashing down on the back of his neck with tremendous force. Kai immediately crumpled to the ground without a sound. A person loomed over the body of the boy.

"I'm sorry kid, but I can't have you blabber-mouthing what you saw or getting in my way." The figure lifted a gun and pointed at Kai's head.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!

Rei came charging over to whoever it was that was standing over the body of his friend. Hiro and the rest of the team were right behind him.

"Get away from our friend and put the gun down!" Tyson shouted

The figure threw something to the ground and a second later he disappeared in a huge puff of smoke.

Hiro grabbed onto Tyson's shirt as he tried to rush over to his team-mate. "Wait! It's not safe yet Tyson!"

"KAI!"

The Bladebreakers spun around to face the girl that had just come out of the bey-stadium.

"Is he O.K? Where is he? What's going on!" the girl cried.

Hiro let go of Tyson and caught the girl as she practically threw herself into the dissipating cloud of smoke.

"Don't go in there." He commanded. "Rei, go get Kai, but be carefull."

"No need for that, I'm fine." Kai said; slowly walking out of the smoke and rubbing the back of his neck.

Nika tore herself away from Hiro and threw herself into Kai's arms.

Burying her face in his chest she said; "I'm so glad that you're o.k. I would never have been able to forgive myself if something happened to you."

The Bladebreakers looked at their team captain with shock written all over their faces. Kai was actually letting a girl _hug_ him! But all too soon, the moment was lost.

"I said I'm fine so don't go all sappy on me!" Kai said, detangling himself from Nika.

Nika looked up at Kai, feeling slightly hurt by the boys reaction. "Thanks for risking yourself like that. I…uh...appreciate it." The girl fumbled over the words and turned away. "I have to go inside now. I'll see you all for the orientation." And so saying, she ran towards the hotel at breakneck speed.

As soon as she got inside, Kai moaned and sank to the ground on his knees. His concerned team surrounded him immediately, asking what they could do.

Speaking through clenched teeth, Kai growled, "I need ice."

Later that night, after the orientation, there was a knock on Kai's room door.

"Kai, its Rei. Can I come in?"

"Mmm…yeah. The door's open."

Rei walked into Kai's room and looked at the boy. He was stretched out on the bed. There was a fresh ice-pack on the back of his neck and the lights were off. Rei frowned.

"We didn't see you downstairs for the orientation. I got kinda worried. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts" Kai mumbled.

"Are you sure you don't want to get it looked at by a doctor?" Rei knew he made a mistake as soon as he asked that. Kai opened one eye and glared at him.

"Yes I'm sure. Anything else you want to ask me while I have a splitting headache?"

"No. I'm sorry, it's that I'm a little concerned, that's all."

"Well I said…"

"…that you're fine. Yeah I know. But the fact that you couldn't see straight when Hiro checked thing out suggests otherwise. Look, sleep on it O.K? If you don't feel any better by the morning, promises me that you'll get it looked at."

Kai grunted in response. "We'll see."

Rei was about to leave when there was another knock on the door. Kai motioned to Rei to let whoever it was in. When Rei opened the door, he was met with Nika's worried face.

"Rei! I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to check up on him. How is he?" she asked.

"You can ask him yourself actually. I was just on my way out." The boy smiled at her. "Whatever you do Nika, don't suggest that he get it looked at." he whispered in her ear as he walked out.

"Right…whatever that means" she muttered as she closed the door behind her.

It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the light. But as soon as they did, she went over to Kai's bed and sat down.

"Hey, how are you?" she asked.

"Fine" came the short response thru clenched teeth.

"Ya know, if I wasn't so worried about you I would laugh! You clearly are not "fine." You're hurt. Let me take a look. Please? It's the least I can do."

Not waiting for the inevitable "no" she was sure to receive, she gently reached behind Kai's head. The boy gave a sharp hiss of pain, but allowed her to help him sit up.

Starting at his lower back and working up to his neck, Nika slowly and gently massaged his spine.

"You're really tight, relax." she told Kai.

"I would, but this hurts like hell." he responded. But secretly, the pain wasn't the reason he was tense. She was touching him, and he liked it. _"Big problem. I promised myself I would never do this to someone again, but she's just so…special. Alright, enough of this! Just tell her that you're fine and kick her out. Easy as pie."_ he told himself.

Kai swallowed hard preparing to tell the girl off when she saved him the trouble of doing so.

"Alright mister, that's all I'm gonna do tonight. I'll be back in the morning to see you again." she gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead and whispered, "Goodnight."

"Yeah, goodnight."

As soon as the door had closed Kai flopped back down.

"Damn…What am I getting myself into?"

The next morning Kai was awakened by a soft knocking on his door. His eyes flew open and he sat up…or rather tried to sit up. As soon as his shoulders left the bed, he moaned and lay back down, shutting his eyes. Slowly opening one eye, he looked at the clock next to the bed. As best he could tell, it was 8:45 in the morning. He opened his other eye and blinked once, but that really didn't help…everything was still fuzzy. There was another knock at the door.

"It's open." he said.

The door opened and Nika poked her head in.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" she asked as she stepped in the room, closing the door behind her.

"It's O.K. I needed to get going anyway."

Nika raised an eyebrow and looked down at him. "Can you even sit up?"

Wincing, Kai shook his head. "No."

"Didn't think so. Now, roll over." she said as she climbed on the bed.

"What! Whoa! Hold on a sec! I don't think you should…"

"Listen up!" she said as she leaned in close. "You're hurt and since you won't get looked over by a professional, _I'm_ going to help you. Now quit your whining and roll over!"

Before either one of them could move however, the door opened and in burst Tyson followed close by Dachi and Max. All three stopped short at the sight before them. There was Kai flat on his back with Nika (still in her nightgown no less) over top of him. "Oh shit." Tyson murmured.

Nika sprang of the bed and literally kicked the three boys out of the room before **locking **the door. Sighing, she turned to face Kai and gasped when he was much closer then she had thought…he was standing right in front of her.

"You should still be in bed." she said, swallowing hard.

"Next time you come to my room alone, make sure you wear your day clothes." he joked, looking down at her gently.

Blushing, she looked at the floor. "Yeah, I know. It was kinda stupid of me to come in here like this, but I just…uh…wanted to check in on you. I'm sorry if I upset you all. I…" Her nervous speed-talking was cut short when Kai placed a finger on her lips.

"Shhh…It's alright."

Nika felt her face getting even redder as she looked up at Kai. Giving a slight nod, she started to back up…but then changed her mind. She reached up and quickly kissed him. At least that's what she intended to do. In all actuality, it lasted longer then she thought it would.

This, of course, was the last thing Kai had expected. Nobody would have known that however because he kissed her back. Gently at first, but at this point he couldn't hold back his feelings for her any longer. And apparently, she felt the same because she wrapped her arms around Kai's neck as she back up to the door. Before he realized it, Kai was slowly letting his hand creep down her back when he abruptly pulled away.

"No! I'm sorry I can't do this to you!" Nika looked at him, perplexed by this new bit of information.

"What are you talking about? It's O.K. to love someone."

"Look, if you know what's good for you, you'll forget that this ever happened! I'm sorry O.K? I just…I can't." Kai turned away. "You should go."

Nika reached out her hand towards the boy. "Kai…"

"Please…just go."

Nika turned and opened the door. "See you later?" Kai just nodded.

After she shut the door, Kai sighed. "What have I done…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Hello and welcome back to my pathetic story. Thanks for putting up with the super long gaps in-between updates. Life, and the fact that I'm not allowed on the computer that much makes for a little bit of a challenge when it come to writing. :)So...On with the story! And PLEASE review! I will not keep writing if I don't get enough reviews. So if ya like that story...say so. And if ya don't like it...well you can say that too. ;)Thanks people!**

_

* * *

_

Journal entry July 12th 11:45pm.

_Why did that damn girl have to come into my room this morning? This just screws everything up. I was lucky today...Hero all but ordered me to rest most of the day so I never left my room. Damnit. I can't believe I kissed her! If I really cared about her, I'd forget all about it. But I've never felt this way before. It's like she's taken over my mind. I can't think straight when she's around...and that spells disaster. More for her than me, but still. I can't bare to go through all that pain again. Once was enough. If I screw this up, she'll die. Maybe I should tell Hiro that I can't compete and just drop out of this one. Ugh...my head hurts and I'm not making any sense. I'll think about all this in the morning._

_-K_

Kai shoved the book he was writing in under the mattress, turned off the light and gently rolled over onto his back. Sleep, however, was not forthcoming. First off, he couldn't get comfortable...his head was still pounding and his neck was killing him. Second, his mind was far too busy for rest. For a while he tried not to think of anything, but in the end, he gave up trying. Sighing, he looked at the clock.

_"1:30. Great. Just great." _

Groaning, he got up and grabbed an ice pack for his neck. After he got as comfortable as possible, he closed his eyes and let his mind take over.

18 years worth of memories washed over him. His whole life, played out before him. Kai hated doing this. He much preferred to forget all about his past, but every once in a while, he had to reminisce; no matter how much it hurt. Painful reminders of who he was, what he had done and the lives he took...and a curse he can't escape from. All the pain and torment came to a head when he remembered Tiffany. The girl he once dared to love. Although Kai tried to stop it, their last day together played out agonizingly slow in his mind. Every bit of it, relived in cruel punishment for a reason no one knows.

_

* * *

A 15 year old Kai ran down the stairs of the mansion to open the front door. _

_"You're late!" he exclaimed as he yanked the door open. _

_"Oh give me a break! Mom wouldn't let me come over till I was done with my chores." A girl the same age as Kai stepped in and took off her coat. Handing it to one of the servants, she turned to Kai and gave him a kiss on the cheek. _

_"So what are we gonna do?" she asked as they took each others hand and started to walk towards the stairs. "It's snowing to hard to go anywhere." _

_"Yeah I know. I figured we could just hang out for a bit...Vola- my grandfather isn't back from work yet." _

_Tiffany stopped walking and looked Kai straight in the eye. "Are you gonna get in trouble again if he comes home and finds me here?" _

_Kai shrugged and started walking again. "Probably. But I really don't care. And look at it this way, you needed to a place to go while your parents went out. This is the closest place."_

_Tiffany still wasn't convinced. "But the last time..."_

_"Never mind the last time! I said I don't care. I can take whatever he dishes out to me. You just stay out of it O.K?" _

_"Alright." she said giving his hand a light squeeze. "I love you" _

_"I love you too Tiff." _

_By this time they had reached Kai's room. They stayed in his room and lost all track of time. Both of them nearly jumped out of their skin when there was a knock at the door. _

_"Voltaire." Tiffany whispered._

_Kai got up and opened the door, Sure enough, Voltaire stood in the doorway looking down at them with stern eyes. _

_Kai met his gaze. "Grandfather. I didn't hear you come home." _

_Something burned in the older mans eyes and Kai knew that is was only a matter of time before all hell broke lose. _

_Voltaire looked at Tiffany. "Your parents are home. It's time for you to go. I have a car waiting outside for you. Goodbye." _

_Turning on his heels he gave Kai a meaningful look "Come to my office at once." _

_Kai helped Tiffany to the car and before they parted, she looked at with tears in her eyes. "Please don't let him hurt you! Tell him it was my idea! Something, anything Kai! Please."_

_"Hey, relax. I'll be fine" He gently hugged her. "As long as we have each other, nothing can hurt me. Remember that." Giving her a kiss he let her go. "Now get out of here before I get in the car with you."_

_"Bye Kai. Love you."_

_"Bye."_

_As the car drove off Kai felt strange. It was as if something was missing from his very being. Shrugging, he turned to go face his grandfather. _

_An hour and a half later, Kai wished he never came back in the house. His entire body was in agony. He was almost sure that his right arm was, as the very least, dislocated. Shaking the blood out of his eyes, he stood back up. _

_"How many times have I told you not to be so weak." Voltaire snapped at his young heir. He let his fist fly once more and Kai's head jerked back. "Women are for the weak and I will not have you to be so foolish." A kick to Kai's knee brought him down again and he let out a hiss of pain. "You could be the perfect solder. You could have power and strength beyond your dreams. But you chose her. You fool. Your luck has just run out. Maybe while you lie awake in bed tonight, you will remember what you've been told...that you cannot love anyone without their being hurt, Kai." _

_Kai snapped his head up and glared at the man before him. "What the hell have you done?" he yelled._

_"You will never see that girl again Kai. She's dead." Voltiare kicked Kai in the head and that was all the boy could take._

* * *

Kai woke up with a start. He was soaking wet with sweat and his throat was bone dry. Sitting up, he looked at the clock. It was 4:20am. 

"Well at least I got some sleep." he muttered as he got up to take a shower.

Twenty minutes later Kai was sitting on the edge of his bed thinking. So much had changed since the day Tiffany died. For Kai, the real kick in the ass was that his grandfather was right. He couldn't love anyone...or anything for that matter, without something bad happening. And although with Tiffany it was Voltaire's fault she died, the man had nothing to do with many other things that happened. Kai shuttered not wanting to remember any more. But as usual, he could only hold back so much. The day after Tiffany was killed, Kai tried to commit suicide. Unfortunately, he was stopped before he went through with it. Two weeks after that, he was on the run. He kept a low profile until he established himself in underground bey-blading. Soon enough, it was known that no one could beat him. When he was comfortable with his position, Kai came out from hiding and eventually joined up with several different teams before he met the Tyson. Now because of publicity, Kai is somewhat safe from his grandfather.

Kai stood up and walked out of his room. He made his way down the hall, but stopped in front of Hiro's door. The light was on.

_"That's odd. Hiro's not usually up at this hour"_ He gave a slight knock on the door and a few seconds later Hiro opened it.

"Kai! Come on in. What are you doing up?" Hiro asked.

"I was wondering the same about you. Hey, you don't look so hot. Is everything O.K.?"

"Actually...no." Hiro sat down and motioned for Kai to do the same. "I hate having to tell you this, but we're gonng have to drop out of the competition."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I got a call from Judy at midnight. Max's dad is really sick and they want Max to come home. Long story short, Max is already on the plane."

"So, all that means is that we're one player short. We can work with that."

"That's the other thing...Dachi can't blade right now."

Kai sighed. "What did he do this time?"

"He broke his arm. He'll be out for 8 weeks at least. So unless you can find a replacement blader, we're done. I'll tell the others when they wake up."

Before he could stop himself Kai had opened his mouth with a comment that he would later kick himself for. "Hold off on telling them. I think I might know someone who we can use. Now, get some sleep...you need it." And with that, he stood up and left Hiro's room.

* * *

Just over two hours later Kai was anxiously waiting for Nika to come out of her room. He knew that she was awake...unless she sleeps with the lights on. The boy took another sip of coffee and rubbed his eyes. He was still in quite a bit of pain, but all things considered he was doing better. At least he could see clearly. 

Nika finally came out of her room and went to the lounge. Kai saw her coming and once again told himself that the only reason he's talking to her is for the good of his team.

Finishing his coffee, Kai stood up and walked over to her. "Morning."

Nika looked up, startled. "Kai! Wow...you're up. How are you feeling?"

"I'm alive. Hey, I got a question for you." he said as he followed her over to the coffee machine.

"Uh...O.k. What is it?" Nika asked as she filled her mug.

"Do you want to join our team?"

Nika almost spilt her coffee. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. Do you want to join out team?"

"Why do you want me on your team?" she asked as she sat down. "You know I can barely blade. That's why I'm not on a team to begin with."

"Yeah I know. But the fact is that two of our members had to drop out last minute. So now we're one team member short. That means the team can't compete. Quite frankly, I could do without this competition, but Tyson needs the practice. So, what's it gonna be? You in?"

Nika slowly took a sip of her coffee. "Alright. I'll join."

"Good. Meet me in the practice hall in half an hour. See ya." Kai stood and walked out, leaving Nika alone.

Shaking her head she sighed. _"He is just so strange."_

"Nika!"

Nika looked up and saw Rei walking over towards her. "Hey!" she smiled.

"I just overheard you and Kai. That's great you joined the team! As long as you can handle practice, you'll have fun!" he said as he sat down.

"Rei can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Anything."

"What's wrong with Kai? I mean, he seems so...closed. It's like he's afraid of loving."

"Uh...huh. That's not what I was expecting. Nika...I'm not sure if anyone really knows what Kai's problems are. You're right...he is very closed, especially about his past. What I do know is this; he lived with his grandfather for a long time. He was brought up to be strong and to be a fighter. I'm not sure what methods were used to teach him, but my guess is...it wasn't pretty. When Kai came to the Bladebreakers, he was even more solitary then he is now. You can be sure of one thing though...he's had a rough life thus far, and that's taken it's toll on him. Hey look, you don't want to be late for practice, so I'll let you go. See ya later, O.k?"

"Sure thing Rei. Thanks!"

Shortly after Rei left, a man came over and stood in front of the table Nika was still sitting at.

"Excuse me. Can I help you with something?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"I think this is yours." the man said as he held out a white napkin.

"No, it's not." Nika exclaimed. "Why don't you give it to the-" but before she could finish, the man shoved the napkin in Nika's face and the girl went limp.

* * *

Just over an hour after Rei left Nika, the boy was desperate. He was pacing back and forth while Tyson and Hiro watched. 

"Kai is never late. Never! Something must be wrong."

"Rei..." Hiro tried for the hundredth time to calm the niko-jin down.

"No! I mean it! Besides, he was supposed to be here with Nika practicing!"

"Maybe they're practicing something else..." Tyson muttered.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" Hiro and Rei both spun around and looked at Tyson.

"Nothing." Tyson said in a small voice.

Hiro turned back to Rei. "Look, I agree with you. Something's not right. Kai wouldn't just not show up for practice. But getting all worked up about isn't going to help, o.k?"

"Yeah, got it." Rei took a deep breath and tried to clear his head. "So now what?"

"Now we find out whom or what is keeping Kai from being here. And my guess is it's not good"

* * *

**HA! I did another chapter! Now please review or no update for you :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Nika. Nika! NIKA!!" Kai's voice ripped Nika through the darkness and she slowly opened her eyes. Everything was all fuzzy.

"Shto?"**(1)** she asked, accidentally slipping back into her native tongue.

"Feeling a little out of it are we?" Kai chuckled, keeping to the Russian speech. "You've been out cold for almost an hour."

Nika blinked a few times and then realized what was going on. Her hands were tied together and strung up on a support bean high above her head. The rope that tied her hands was cruelly tight and it cut into her skin. Kai was in the same position...only there was blood trickling down his arms.

"You're bleeding." she stated bluntly.

"Yeah, and I can't feel my hands anymore either, but whatever. The good news is that I think I can break out of this soon. I just need a little more time."

Just then however, the door to the room the two teenagers were in opened and four large men stepped in.

Kai squinted as the door was held open for another man. "_What the hell is going on??"_ he thought as the man entered. Kai quickly memorized all he could about him. If he got out of this alive, he wanted to know who to go after. The man was small, only about 5'4". Compared to the other men in the room, this guy was a shrimp. There wasn't a whole lot else Kai could gather in his current position. The light was coming from behind the man, so Kai couldn't make out any of his features. "_What is he doing?? He's just standing there…looking at us."_

Finally the man spoke. "Keep the girl alive. You can kill the boy." And with that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Kai tensed as soon as the four large men came towards him. This was going to be tricky.

"STOP!!" Nika screamed so loudly that the men stopped walking towards Kai and instead, turned to look at her. "Why are you going after him?? He hasn't done anything to you!"

"Collateral damage." one of the men responded. "He got in our way, so now he dies. It's very simple." With that, he turned back to Kai. "Sorry kid."

"Don't be sorry till it's over…and don't call me kid." Kai growled.

Just as the first man reached him, Kai pulled up on the rope and slammed both his feet into the mans chest, hurling him back into one of his friends.

"_That buys me, what? like 10 seconds before all four of them are on top of me…great!" _ Kai again griped the rope and quickly pulled himself up, kicking the man in front of him and barley missing the vicious kick aimed at his own knee.

What happened next was totally unpreventable. Before Kai could lower himself down, the support beam snapped and he came down on his back …HARD. For a moment he couldn't even move. All he could do was lie there, gasping for breath.

"KAI!! MOVE…NOW!!" Nika's desperate scream launched Kai into action. He rolled to the side as quickly as possible and swung his legs around, tripping the man that had been running at him. Kai jumped to his feet and immediately got into a fighting position; center of gravity low and feet in a spread stance.

"Play time…"

The fight that followed didn't last long. Even though the men Kai was up against were bigger and stronger than him, he was faster and smarter. Not even 15 minutes into the fight all four men were bound and gagged.

Still panting, Kai walked over to Nika and untied her. During the fight, Nika had her eyes closed. Now she slowly opened them as she started to rub her wrists.

"Come on. We gotta get outta here fast." Kai said as he turned towards the door.

Nika gasped when Kai turned around. His shirt was torn and his back was covered in blood. "You're hurt! Kai, your back…it's all bloody!"

"Yeah, so? Come on already. I don't feel like fighting anyone again."

"But your back…"

"I'll take care of it when we get out of here! Now let's move!!" Kai snapped.

Despite the fact that he was injured, Kai moved quickly. They were out of the building they were being held captive in, in about 20 minutes. As soon as they were a safe distance away, Nika turned to go back to the Hotel.

"We're not going back to the Hotel." Kai said as he sat down on the ground.

"Why not? You need to get your back cleaned and I need to notify the authorities about what happened."

"Look, if you want to go get yourself killed, be my guest. I'm not going back to the Hotel till later. Whoever is after us will expect that we'd be heading back there, so I'm not going." Kai leaned back on his elbows. "Well, are you just gonna stand there?

Nika frowned. "No." She sat down opposite Kai. "Can I at least look at your back for you?"

"No. It's-"

"Fine?" Nika interrupted. "Hmm…Now where have I heard that before?"

"Shut up."

"Well I never…! Someone's in a grumpy mood."

"What part of 'shut up' didn't you understand? I'll be happy to explain to you whatever it is you don't get. Now, if you do understand…then just do it!" Kai rolled onto his side and closed his eyes.

Nika had a smirk on her face when she leaned in towards Kai. "Ya know something? You're kinda cute when you're mad."

Kai sat up in a flash. "Don't make me regret saving you." he snapped.

Nika laughed. "I'm just trying to get you to lighten up a bit. Oh and by the way, I'm gonna look at your back anyway."

Before Kai could protest, Nika had moved around to his back and gently peeled back the torn section of his shirt. Nika gave a small gasp when she saw the cut on his back.

"Oh my…! Kai you seriously need to get this cleaned out! There are pieces of wood imbedded in the cut!"

Kai shrugged away from her. "Unless you feel like trying clean it yourself, I suggest you leave off and worry about something else!"

"Hey! You don't have to get so snippy about it! I'm only trying to help!"

"Well, maybe if you did what I said, we wouldn't be having this discussion and I wouldn't be getting "snippy" about it!"

"Or, you could just learn to appreciate people who care when someone is hurt!"

Kai stood up. "Why don't you just stop trying to tell people how to live their lives!? I can take care of myself!"

"Damnit Kai! I don't know what the hell made you the way you are, but something's gotta give! So snap out of whatever funk you're in and start acting like a civilized person!" Nika stopped and glared at Kai.

Kai glared back at her for a long while before taking a step towards her. Leaning down, he looked her straight in the eyes. "You're right. You have NO idea why I am the way I am. So until you do, you would be wise to stop telling me how to act. I am touched by your concern, but when you've been through hell, a little cut on the back means almost nothing. We clear?"

Nika gulped. "Yes."

Kai straightened up. "Good, now we can go back to relaxing for a bit."

Kai sat back down and an awkward silence followed. After a while, Kai spoke.

"I think you owe me an explanation."

Nika looked at him. "What?"

"I mean, lets face it; you have enemies that want you...out of the picture. I've saved you twice now and I still have no idea what I'm up against."

"Oh, yeah…umm…well I…" Nika fumbled over the words. She was obviously uncomfortable with the question.

Kai cocked his head to the side smirked. "Nevermind. We should actually get moving. If I left a blood trail, those guys might try to track us."

"Oh right…o.k." Nika stood up and walked over to Kai. "You want me to stop the bleeding before we go?"

Kai turned and looked at her. "And what, pray tell, are you gonna use to do that??"

About ten minutes later, Kai wouldn't even look at the girl before him. Her shirt was now securely fastened to his back. Nika had torn her shirt into strips and used them to make a bandage.

"There! All better! At least for now." Nika giggled. "You _can_ look at me Kai; it's only a bathing suit top."

Kai glanced at her. "Yeah, sure, whatever you say. Can we go now?"

"Yup, just as soon as you look at me and say thanks."

Kai felt his face getting red. _"Oh for crying out loud! I can't believe her!"_ He looked up at Nika and smirked a little. "I never meant to take advantage of you."

"Huh? What are you talking about??"

"Well, I literally took the shirt off you back, so…"

Now it was Nika's turn to blush. "Oh, uh…"

"Thanks. Now let's get outa here."

-

-

-

**(1) "**Shto?" Is Russian for "What?" Da, I know a little Russia! lol I can say a few things, but I have one heck of a time writing it, so don't expect much. lol

Now…Please review and let me know if ya like. I know it's been ages since I worked on this story, and for that I am really sorry. But I'm back now! So…talk to me peeps!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Just when Kai and Nika were getting ready to move on, the Bladebraker's were trying to find out just what the heck happened to them. Unfortunately, Hiro and Rei were the only two who were able to think straight. Tyson was beside himself and Daichi was right there with him.

"We're never gonna find them!! We're all doomed!!" Daichi whined.

Rei made two fists and took a deep breath. "We are not all doomed." he said through clenched teeth. "We will find them and everything will be just fine. Now shut up!"

Hiro gave Rei an amused look. "That was mean."

Rei looked at the pouting Daichi. "Sorry." Turning back to Hiro he whispered, "This kid is driving me nuts!! Can't we give him a sedative or something?"

Hiro just looked at him.

"O.k, stupid question…"

Hiro placed a hand on Rei's shoulder. "Don't worry Rei; I'm sure Kai will be fine. He knows how to take care of himself…he'll be back by tonight I'm sure."

_Meanwhile…._

"Kai…can we _please_ take a break?? I'm hungry and my feet hurt."

Kai groaned mentally, _"Girls…ugh."_ Outwardly he just turned and looked at Nika. "Fine. Take a rest. I'm gonna take a walk up ahead and check out the area."

Nika sat down and started messaging her feet. "Don't go too far."

"Yes mother…" Kai grunted.

As it turned out, Kai couldn't get far anyway. He had only been walking for about 10min. before he heard voices. Quickly, Kai dodged to the nearest cover he could find. Crouched down and unmoving, he listened to the short conversation.

"This is stupid. They're just a couple of kids. And one of them is hurt. I mean, how far could they get?"

"You moron! Didn't you hear who the one kid is?"

"No. Why?"

"It's Kai Hiwatari you idiot! That kid is one of the most dangerous people for his age in the world!"

"Oh…so why is he here?"

Kai heard the soft thud as the one man got a light punch to his head.

"He's here cuz he's also the best bey-blader there is. It's only natural that he would get invited to this thing."

"How do you know all this anyway?"

"Well, I'm closer to the higher-ups. Voltaire told me himself to watch out for Kai and to make sure he didn't get in the way of anything."

Kai didn't hear any more after Voltaire's name was mentioned. His head started to throb and there was this rushing sound in his ears. His vision got blurry all of a sudden and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"_Hell no…this cannot be happening."_ Kai thought as he fought to keep his sanity.

If there was one this on this planet that absolutely terrified Kai, it was Voltaire. The poor kid was like a deer in headlights…unable to move, think, or comprehend anything going on around him… so he just sat there. This is why he didn't even hear it when someone crept up behind him...

-

-

Nika sat and waited for Kai for about 40min. before she started to get impatient.

"Grrrr….What the heck is taking him so long? He agreed he wouldn't go far." She frowned. "Maybe I should go look for him. Yeah, that's what I'll do. If he gets mad at me…well, it's his own darn fault for being gone for so long!"

After walking for a little bit, Nika realized that she had no clue how to find Kai.

"I know he came this way…but he could've changed direction. Oh damn it! I think I'm lost!!"

Nika sat down with a sigh. "Now what do I do?"

While she sat and thought, someone slowly snuck up on her from behind.

-

-

Kai heard a twig snap directly behind him and realized too late that he was in trouble. He didn't even have time to move before an arm pinned him down and someone's hand covered his mouth.

Kai squirmed a little before someone hissed in his ear…"Cut it out you moron…or I'll break your neck!"

Kai froze. He knew that voice…

-

-

Nika saw a shadow move up from behind her. She jumped up, spun around, and screamed. Or rather, that what she intended to do. She got to the point where she was about to scream when the person who was "stalking" her moved. Almost before it could register, the person (it looked like a guy) had effectively pinned her down and shut her up.

Nika tried to wiggle and found it almost impossible. This guy knew what he was doing…or maybe not.

"Are you o.k?" he asked Nika.

Nika gave a slight nod.

"Good. I'm gonna let go now. Promise me you won't run or scream, got it?"

Again Nika nodded.

Slowly, the guy let her go. As soon as she could, Nika let out a scream…

-

-

"_Ugh…my head. What's going on??"_ Nika tried to force her way through the darkness and wake up. _"That gut must have knocked me out. Damnit! I miss Kai… Come on Nika…open your eyes!" _

Nika forced her eyes open and blinked. For some reason, everything was still dark. She turned her head and realized why. It was night out and she was in some kind of a cave or something. There were three people by the entrance, but Nika couldn't tell who any of them were. It sounded like they were talking in Japanese or something and one of the three was arguing with the other two. After she let her eyes adjust to the darkness, Nika decided to let her captors know she was awake.

"Hey! Who the hell are you guys? And where the hell are we? You better answer me or else!" Nika hoped the fear she felt didn't show in her voice.

All three turned to look at her and then two came over. One was a tall red head and the other was a little smaller and had black hair. The third person stayed by the entrance. The black haired boy spoke first.

"Are you alright?? I'm really sorry about knocking you out, but I asked you not to scream and then you looked like you would anyway and, well…Are you alright??"

The person over by the entrance snorted. Nika looked to see if she could figure out who it was, but she still couldn't see that great.

"I'm alright I guess. Will you answer my questions or not?"

The red-head spoke next. "Yes we'll answer your questions, but why don't you come over to the front first." He nodded his head in the direction of the entrance.

Nika nodded. "Fine. Then we talk."

As she walked to the front of the cave, she noticed it was almost morning. Then she looked at the person sitting by the entrance and gasped.

"KAI!!"

Kai looked up at her and nodded. "Yeah, what do ya want?"

Nika just stood there with her mouth hanging for a second, and then she regained her composure. She sank down next to him a whispered to him. "Who the hell are these guys?"

Kai nodded to the red-head and said…"That's Tala and the other kid is Ryan. They're my old teammates."

"Oh…so they're on our side then?"

"Mmm…yeah I guess so."

Nika looked at Kai. There was enough light now so she could see Kai's face. Something didn't look right. "Are you o.k?" she asked.

"Nope…I think I'm pretty drunk at the moment. Thanks for asking though."

"Wha…??"

"We need to lance the wound on his back…being drunk helps a bit with the pain." Tala spoke as if this happened every day.

Nika turned to look at him. "You're kidding me, right?"

"No."

"Oh…"

"Umm…Nika, why don't you go sit with Ryan over there for a bit." Kai said. This isn't going to be pretty…"

Nika started to protest. "But I don't want…"

Ryan came up a put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. It won't take long. I promise."

Reluctantly, Nika let Ryan lead her away. Tala stayed with Kai.

Tala took out a knife and looked at Kai. "You ready?"

Kai just looked at him.

-

-

After about twenty min. and half a dozen colorful swear words later, everything was just about done. Tala was just re-bandaging Kai's back and then they were good to go.

"You like her, don't you?" Tala asked Kai softly.

"Huh? Who, Nika?"

"Don't play stupid with me Kai! I've known you my whole life! You like her."

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

"For starters, you've been looking at her most of the time…"

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

"Fine. O.k., yes I like her…a little!"

Tala laughed. "Kai…You like Hillary 'a little'. I'd venture a guess you like Nika a bit more than 'a little'."

"Shut up! Remember, I'm drunk…I can't be held answerable for breaking something…like your face."

"Yeah, sure! Whatever…you're all set. Try to get some rest for a bit. I'll get you up when it's time to go."

-

-

Meanwhile, Nika and Ryan were getting to know each other a bit.

"So…you and Kai were on the same team, huh?" Nika asked.

"Yeah…we all grew up together. We went to the same school and we were on the same team."

"Well that must have been fun."

"I guess. He used to out-do all of us though…it was tough trying to keep up with him."

"I know what you mean! He's got a lot of stamina…I mean he just keeps going and going…even when he's hurt."

"Uh-huh. So, how long have you known Kai?" Ryan asked.

"Less than a week. We met the three day's ago. He helped me out with some stuff and now look where we are. He's hurt and we're out in the middle of who knows where! I feel terrible…this is all my fault! I dragged him into all of this!" Nika put her head in her hands.

"Hey…I'm sure it's not all your fault. Kai would've backed out of something if he felt it was unnecessarily dangerous. He stuck around because he wanted to…not because you dragged him into it." Ryan put his arm around Nika's shoulder.

"You mean that?"

"Absolutely! I've know Kai for years. He won't go into anything without considering what the outcome could be. Then, he'll figure out if he should stick around and help. If the answer's yes…then there's nothing you can say or do to change his mind. The same goes for if the answer's no."

"Well, I feel a little bit better now…but I'm still pretty down about it. I mean, if he hadn't met me, he wouldn't be hurt, right?"

Tala walked over and sat next to Nika. 'Not necessarily. Trouble follows Kai wherever he goes…"

Nika looked over at Tala. "So…how is he?"

"Resting. We'll move out in a few hours. You should try to rest a little too. We have a long day ahead of us."

-

-

-

Ta da! Wow..this is a long chapter for me right now…sweet! So watchya think? Like it? Hate it? Wanna hug it? Lol let me know!!

Now here's the thing, this is the last chapter I have pre-written out. So what does that translate too for you? Well, in short, it means that if you want me to keep this story up, I NEED you to review and let me know. If no one really cares much for this story, I won't bother to continue. So….SPEAK UP!! What you want counts.

Now, if I get enough reviews and I do keep writing for this, be prepared for a long wait for the next chapter. I'm kinda busy with work and stuff and I don't have a lot of time to sit down and write…not to mention that I'm three weeks into writers block. Lol

Talk to me people!


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing Kai realized when he woke up was that he was lying on his stomach. _"What the…?_" he thought. He hadn't slept on his stomach in years. The next thing he noticed was that he was in pain. His head felt like it was splitting open and his back felt like it had been sliced. Kai frowned…why couldn't he remember what was going on? He slowly opened his eyes...then quickly shut them. It was really bright out…it had to be the middle of the day.

"_Ok…think…what's the last thing you can remember? I remember…Tala?? Oh shit!"_ Realization hit Kai like a Mack truck. His eyes flew open and got up…which proved a bad idea. Kai's body was still protesting the abuse it had gone through the day before and no sooner had he stood up, than he needed to sit back down. His head was spinning and his entire body ached. He gave a small hiss of pain as he sank back down to the ground, clutching his head in one hand. Tala was at his side in a second.

"Kai?! What the hell do you think you're doing, man?"

Kai peeked out from behind his hand. "What time is it?"

Tala sighed...typical Kai. "You've only been out for a few hours…it's about 9:00am."

Kai nodded and slowly lowered his hand. "Shit...I forgot what a bad hangover feels like…"

Tala snorted. "That's the least of your worries, trust me."

Kai frowned and glanced at Tala. "What do ya mean?"

Tala looked over his shoulder at Nika. She was sound asleep. Good, he didn't want her to hear this. Turning back to Kai he said, "I didn't want to get into this last night but, we really need to get you to a hospital. That wound on your back is worse than I let on. We need to get you some antibiotics or that's gonna get really nasty, really fast."

Kai groaned and rolled his eyes. "So what's the bad news?"

"Voltaire's on your tail."

"Yeah…so I've heard…"

Tala studied Kai's face. His eyes had a darkness to them that Tala hadn't seen in years…and that worried him. "Kai…"

"Hmm?"

"You're not in this alone ya know…You have friends and people to help you. He's not going to get you..not this time."

Kai nodded slowly looking around. "Where's Ryan?" he asked, changing the subject.

Tala frowned. "I sent him back to the hotel to let your team know that you're alive."

"Nika?"

Tala nodded his head back. "Over there. I told her to rest for a while before we moved on."

"Right." Kai said moving to get up. Tala stood and offered Kai his hand. The teen grasped it and let Tala help him up.

Tala held onto Kai's hand for a moment longer than necessary and looked at the wrist of the other boy.

Kai scowled. "Umm…You can let go now."

Tala dropped Kai's hand and looked up. "I…It's just…Listen Kai, I just don't' want you go back to the way you were."

Kai's head dropped a little. "I know…" he said softly, running a finger over the deep scars on his wrist. "I won't."

"Promise?"

Kai lifted his head and his eyes burned with their normal fire. "Don't worry about me. You should be more concerned about how badly I'm gonna kick your ass in this tournament. "

Tala was unimpressed. "That's what you think."

Kai smiled, relieved that the conversation was no longer centered on him. "We should probably think about getting a move on. I don't want to stay here too long."

"I'll get Nika up. Here…" Tala reached into the back-pack that was on the ground. "Eat this and make sure you drink some water. You lost a bit of blood yesterday and I don't want you fainting on me later."

Kai grabbed the energy bar and bottle of water Tala was holding out for him. "Thanks."

Tala walked over to Nika and kneeled down next to her. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a little shake. "Hey…Nika? Wake up."

Nika stirred a little but didn't open her eyes.

Tala tried again. "Nika, we have to get going. Wake up."

Nothing.

Kai walked up behind Tala. "Oh get out of the way!" He said shoving his friend aside. "Yo! Nika! Come on, get up!!" Kai said, nudging her with his foot.

"Hmmm…." Nika moved but still didn't open her eyes.

Tala snorted and Kai shot him a withering glare. Tala shut up.

Kai groaned. "She just like Tyson…" he mumbled under his breath. And with that, he reached down and yanked the rolled up sweat-shit Nika was using as a pillow out from under her head. He put his foot under her head so she wouldn't smack it on the ground as it came back down.

"Hey! What the fu-" Nika's eyes flew open and she propped herself up on one elbow. "What the hell was that for?" she complained.

"Good morning to you too." Kai smirked.

Nika stuck her tongue out at him. Then she turned to look at Tala. "Good morning Tala." She said sweetly with a smug smile on her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the death-glare Kai was shooting at her.

Tala stifled a laugh. "Morning."

Kai cleared his throat. "Come on you two, I wanna get outta this place ASAP. And the sooner you stop pissing my off, the better." He tossed a bottle of water and an extra energy bar to Nika. "We leave in 10." He said as he made his way back to the opening of the cave they were in.

Tala shot Nika an apologetic look and then got ready to leave.

10 minutes later, the three teens were on their way back to the hotel. About 1.5hrs into the trip, Kai started to pale and slow down. Tala pulled him aside while Nika got a drink.

"Hey, you alright?" Tala asked, concerned.

Kai tried to shrug him off, but he lacked the strength. "I'll be alright…I'm just tired."

"Kai! Look at me!" Tala grasped both of Kai's shoulders and turned his friend to face him. Kai lifted his eyes and looked at Tala. Tala searched Kai's face and was shocked to see how horrible he looked.

"Tala, I'm alright, really." Kai said. And then his eyes lost focus and rolled back in his head. He crumpled into Tala's arms.

"Nika! " Tala shouted as he sank to the ground with Kai. "Bring my back pack over here now!!"

Nika was sitting on a rock with her back to the two boys when Tala shouted out to her. She jumped up and spun around. Giving a little gasp, she grabbed Tala's bag and ran over to the two boys. "What happened to him?" She asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I have a few ideas." Tala said.

"Like what?" she pressed.

"Nothing good…"

Tala peeled open one of Kai's eyes…it was bloodshot, but that was understandable due to lack of sleep. Next, he checked his pulse…Kai's heart was racing. Not good… He was also burning up. Whatever was going on, Kai needed medical attention fast.

Tala took a bottle of water out of the back-pack and soaked a scrap of cloth. He laid it across Kai's forehead and then sat back on his heels. He closed his eyes…he needed a plan.

Nika was wringing her hands while Tala looked Kai over. She felt useless…she wasn't very good when it came to handling any type of emergency. "_I'm sure Tala will have some sort of plan. Right?"_

Tala was brain-storming…running through ideas in his head and crossing off the ones that wouldn't work in a rapid-fire sort of way. He couldn't leave Kai out here to go get help, but at the same time, Kai was in no condition to be moved around. He also couldn't leave Nika out here with him. She would have no idea what to do it Kai's condition changed. That left one option…

Tala opened his eyes. "Nika." he said sharply. "I need you to go get help."

"What?"

"We can't move Kai in this condition and he needs more help than I can give him out here. I need you to go and get his teammates. Ya got it?"

Nika nodded slowly. This was not her idea of a great plan, but whatever.

"Do not, and I mean this, do NOT let anyone else know about what's going on. In fact, try not to let anyone see you…that will just cause a bunch of commotion."

Again, Nika nodded. "How do I get back to the Hotel?" she asked.

"Go East…that way. Just keep going straight for about…I don't know…maybe another hour or so. You should be able to see the hotel at some point. Sneak in, tell Hiro, and then let him figure out what to do."

Nika was nodding non-stop. She didn't want to mess this up, but she was nervous.

Tala sensed her anxiety. He smiled up at her. "It's gonna be ok, just do what I told you and everything will work out just fine. Now get going…every second counts."

Nika turned and ran off in the direction that Tala had pointed her in. Looking back at this moment, Nika would later say she never ran so fast in her life as she did at that moment.

Tala watched her sprint off and sighed. This was bad. VERY bad. Even if she was able to get in touch with Hiro, how was he going to get help out this far? Kai needed to get to a hospital…and unless an ambulance could drive through the woods...they were screwed.

Tala went back to examining Kai. He was looking for something specific…there! On Kai's right arm…a tiny needle mark. Tala felt his stomach drop. Either Kai was doing drugs again or…

Kai stirred and opened his eyes a little. He looked up at Tala, confused. "Wha- what happened?"

"Not quite sure."

Kai frowned. He was doing that a lot lately… He looked around and noticed something. "Where's Nika?"

"I sent her to get help."

Kai tired to get up. "By herself? What were you thinking??"

Tala pushed Kai back down. "Don't move!" he ordered. "Sending Nika back was the only option I had. I need to stay with you to make sure you don't accidentally kill yourself."

"Huh?"

"I think you've been poisoned. That's the only thing that makes sense anyway."

"Explain."

"You shouldn't be feeling this way unless you were drugged. Let's face it, you've been hurt 10 times worse than this, operated on less sleep and still been fine! Also, there's a needle mark on your right arm."

Kai lifted his arm and looked at it. "That wasn't there before." he said lazily.

"Ya-duh! My guess is that whoever kidnapped you, gave you a shot of something while you were out."

"Huh…go figure…" Kai was starting to feel delirious. "I don't think I'm feeling that great…" he mumbled…and then passed out again.

"Damnit!!" Tala was really worried now. As long as Kai was awake, he was doing o.k but now…now it was out of Tala's hands. And for the first time in years, Tala felt truly alone.

-

-

-

So...how's that for a whole lot of nothing?? Lol This chapter essentially wrote itself, so if you don't like it, tell the chapter, not me!! No, seriously I want to know if you liked it or not. Also, I want your opinions on something. Should I change the rating to M? I'm thinking it would be mainly for the language, but I want to know what my readers prefer. Do you like to "keep it clean" or do you want some "dirty words" in here from time to time? Let me know o.k!

Now…I know that this chapter centered mainly on Kai and Tala and that Nika had very little to do this time around. That was not planned and hopefully, she'll have a bigger role in the next chapter. After all, it's kinda up to her to save Kai's life!

Anyway! Sorry for any typos that might be in here…I proof read it, but I miss stuff sometimes.

Don't hold your breath for the next chapter…if you do, you'll be dead by the time it comes out. It might be a while!

Thanks to all who took the time to read and review and I'll talk to you soon!!


	7. Chapter 7

_**Beep…beep…beep….**_

_**Tap…taptaptap…tap…**_

"_**How is he?"**_

"_**The same."**_

"_**No change at all?"**_

"_**Nope…he hasn't moved or said anything. It doesn't look like any of the read-outs have changes either. He's been out for a while…Is this normal?"**_

"_**I guess. He's never had something like this done before, so we have nothing to draw from. All the doctors are saying it could take another day or two for him to wake up."**_

"_**Well I wish he would just get on with it already!"**_

**Kai was listing to the conversation without really understanding who was talking or anything that was being said. It seemed to him that the people talking were at the other end of a long tunnel…their voices seemed far away. But on the other hand, they were close…they had to be close. Who are they and what are they saying?? Kai tried to clear his mind and gain control of his body again but it was proving difficult. It took a while, but eventually, he was able to focus enough energy to his eyes and force them open. **

**The bright light was piercing and Kai quickly closed his eyes again. White. Everything was white. The air was dry and sterile. And the beeping…that stupid annoying beeping. He knew where he was now.**

**The beeping in the background seemed to get faster. **

"_**What the…"**_

"_**He's waking up!" **_

"_**Are you sure?"**_

"_**Pretty much…that's the only thing that makes sense. He must realize where he is. Hey Kai? Can you hear me?"**_

**Tala! Of course it was Tala! Kai forced his eyes open again.**

"**Hey." The word rasped over Kai's dry lips.**

"**How are you feeling?"**

"**Like shit…"**

"**Understandable. Look, you gotta calm down. Your heart is racing. You keep this up you're going to have a full team of doctors in here in less than 2 minutes."**

**Kai took a few deep breaths and the beeping began to slow. While he was doing this, Kai's eyes searched the room that he was in. Nika was standing a few feet away from the bed he was in. She had a odd look on her face…something between happiness and guilt. She also looked tired. She smiled when she saw he was looking at her.**

"**Hey Kai. Glad to see you're awake. You gave us a bit of a scare before."**

"**Oh? Sorry about that then. Tala, will you stop fussing over me! I'm fine!"**

**Tala snorted. "You know I don't believe that. Besides, a lot has happened to you since you were awake last."**

**Kai knew he didn't have half a chance winning this one, so he just let it go. He looked around the room again. Thankfully, besides Tala and Nika, he was alone in the room. No room-mate. That was good. He had to admit, the room was pretty nice. **

"**So…how long have I been here?"**

**Tala looked at him. "Only 2 days."**

**Kai gasped. "**_**Two days!!!"**_

**Nika smiled gently. "It's not so bad. You obviously weren't awake for any of it so how bad can it really be? Oh, and I postponed the tournament a few days so you don't have to worry about that. I just said there was a problem with the bey-stadium that we had to fix before we started."**

**Kai closed his eyes. "Two friggin days in this place! I gotta get out of here…"**

**The beeping started to go faster. Tala frowned. "Relax Kai! We've been here the whole time. Nothing is going to happen to you. You're fine…now chill out!" **

**The beeping didn't slow and Kai shook his head. "Get. Me. Out of here!!"**

**Nika glanced at Tala. She silently mouthed the word '**_**nurse?**_**' at him and he gave one quick nod. Nika quietly back out of the room and went to go find a nurse. **

**She was worried about Kai. Tala had told her how much he hated being in hospitals and that he might kick up a fuss when he realized that's where he was, but still. He had needed a blood transfusion and some serious stitches in his back. He was on heavy doses of antibiotics but even with all that, the doctors weren't sure if he was going to be ok. Kai looked like he had just been dragged out of hell…and it was all her fault. She felt like crawling under a rock and dieing. Nika closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to hold it together for a little bit longer. **_**"A nurse…I just need to find a nurse for him and then I can go.**_**" **

**Nika quickly found a nurse and told her that Kai was awake and that they should probably go check on him. The nurse nodded and thanked her before walking towards Kai's room. Nika hesitated. Half of her wanted to go back to the room and make sure that he was doing ok, but the other half was telling her that she had done enough damage and that she should go now. Just then, her phone started to buzz. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. It was Tala. Nika flipped the phone open and answer the call. **

"**Tala? What -?"**

"_**Get back here will ya? I think you might help keep him calm." **_

"**Right. I'm on my way back now."**

**The line went dead as Nika turned to go back to the room. Apparently she had no say in the matter…**

**--**

**--**

**--**

**When Kai opened his eyes, it was dark in the room. It took him a moment to remember that he totally flew off the handle and they had to sedate him. He rolled his eyes and groaned. Idiot. **

"**You gonna be alright or should I get more drugs for you?"**

"**Tala…."**

"**Yeah?"**

"**I'm sorry…about before. I don't…. I'm just….." Kai stumbled over the words.**

"**Chill dude. It's ok. You don't have to explain anything to me."**

"**Thanks."**

**Tala was quite for a moment and the silence seemed heavy in the dark room. "Kai? I think we should talk."**

**Kai shifted uncomfortably. "About?"**

"**About what's going on. Do you even know what you're getting yourself into??"**

"**What does it matter?"**

"**It matters because you almost died! You're my best friend and I almost lost you forever!"**

"**Tala…I'm fi-"**

"**Don't you **_**dare!!**_**" Tala hissed the words thru clenched teeth. "Don't you dare try to tell me that you're fine! Do you think I'm stupid or something?"**

**Kai took a shaky breath. "That's not it and you know it. I just hate it when people fuss over me, that's all."**

"**Fine. You don't want to talk about it now, ok. But don't think I've let you off the hook." **

"**Sure. Look, I'm kinda tired. You can go if you want…I'll be fine."**

**Tala could tell that his friend just wanted to be left alone. "Alright. I'll see you later." Tala got up and moved towards the door. **

"**Hey, Tala?"**

"**Hmm?"**

"**Thanks for everything."**

"**No problem. Get some rest, ya hear? If you behave, I bet I can get you out of here tomorrow."**

"**Right…"**

**Tala walked out of the room and made his way down the hall. Nika was waiting for him on a bench by a window.**

"**Well?"**

"**He's better than before, but still upset. I think he'll feel more at ease when we get him out of here." **

**Tala sat next to Nika on the bench and looked out the window at the moon. It was almost full and the silver light cast dim shadows over everything. Nika studied his face and frowned. "You look really tired."**

**Tala snorted. "Yeah, I bet I do! Three days with only a few hours of sleep will do that to ya."**

"**I'm sorry."**

"**For…??"**

"**I feel like this is all my fault. If Kai hadn't gotten involved with my life, he would be fine and you wouldn't have to be here now." Nika put her head in her hands dejectedly. **

"**Don't beat yourself up. It'll work out fine in the end, don't worry. Besides, this isn't the first time I've been deprived of a little sleep and I'm sure it wont be the last."**

**Nika looked up at him and saw the sincerity of his words displayed in his eyes. "Tell me something?"**

"**Hmm??"**

"**Why does he hate hospitals so much?"**

**Tala blinked. That wasn't the type of question he was expecting. "Uhhh….. It's ahh…. It's kinda a boring story…"**

"**I wanna know."**

"**Ok. Umm…" Tala rubbed the back of his neck while he searched for the right words. "I guess the easiest way to explain it is that he had a lot of bad experiences as a kid."**

"**Such as…?" Nika pressed.**

"**Well, he… he got hurt a lot when he was younger and he had to go to hospitals often. I guess he just got tired of it."**

**Nika looked at him studiously for a moment. "You're not telling me everything."**

**Tala shifted uncomfortably. "I think you should ask him for details…its not really my stuff to be telling you about…if ya know what I mean."**

"**Alright, I get it." Nika stood up. "Thanks anyway. I'm gonna go get some rest. You staying here?"**

"**Yeah… I'll feel better about things if I stay with him."**

"**Take care of yourself too, ok?"**

**Tala smiled. "Sure… you too."**

"**I will. See you in the morning." Nika smiled and waved as she walked towards the exit. Tala watched her till she was out of sight and then went back to Kai's room for the rest of the night.**

**-**

**-**

**Well, here ya have it. Disappointing, isn't it? After leaving you all hanging for months, this is what I give you. I should be taken out in the woods and shot… lol Seriously though, I do want to apologize for a few things… **

**One, sorry I haven't been updating this regularly. My life has taken a few turns and writing for pleasure has kinda been moved to the back burner for a while. **

**Two, I personally think this chapter sucks, but I wanted to give you something new so… sorry bout that. **

**Three, sorry for any typos. Did my best to make sure everything was ok, but I do miss stuff sometimes.**

**On a slightly different note, I think some of the people are a little OOC, but that's the way they wanted to be written in this chapter so don't blame me! **

**Also, I've decided that this will be the last T rated chapter. Starting the next chapter, this story will have an M rating… just because of language. **

**Well, I'll leave off there. Please review and let me know if there is any part of this monstrosity of a chapter that you like… it helps me out a lot. ****J I'll update as soon as I can but that might be a while, so please be patient with me. Thanks everyone!!**


	8. Chapter 8

Tala and Hiro were able to get Kai out of the hospital two days after his "breakdown". He was still being heavily medicated, but as long as he didn't do too much the doctors felt he would be ok. And, if he was calmer out of the hospital, they thought he might heal up faster. It still took about 2 weeks before Kai was 100% again though. During that time, Tala had to practically sit on his best friend to keep him from doing too much. Kai of course protested being treated this way and made no secret of that fact. Tala literally had to drag Kai out of the practice rooms one day when he was started to push that days training with the team to far.

"What the fuck man!?" complained Kai as Tala sat him down on a bench.

"You're gonna hurt yourself if you keep going at this pace! You've been out of the hospital less than two weeks. You need to take it easy."

"Like hell I do! I know what I'm doing…I'm not a baby."

"Well maybe if you stopped acting like one, I wouldn't treat you like one!"

Kai opened his mouth to make a nasty response but quickly choked it back when Nika came out to see what was going on.

"Everything ok?" she asked, sitting down across from Kai.

Kai shot daggers at Tata. "Just peachy…"

Tala groaned. "Don't mind him…he's just throwing a hissy fit becau-"

"Because he wont stop treating like a frigging 2year old!"

Nika stifled a giggle as she listened to the two boys go back and forth.

"No, 2year olds know when to cut the crap… you're worse than a toddler you cry-baby!"

Kai glared at Tala and flipped him off, but didn't say anything more. Nika rolled her eyes and cleared her throat.

"I just thought you boys would want to know that the results are back and both teams are set for the second round of the tournament… it starts in 2 days."

Kai nodded as he stood up. "Ok, great. Come on, you need to practice."

Tala grabbed his arm and forced him back on the bench, "Not yet you don't, You've been training for the past 2hrs… it's break time."

"I wont do anything, I promise. Nika needs to put the time in though if we're gonna win… all I'm gonna do is coach, ok?"

Tala looked at Nika. "Make sure he doesn't push it. If he does anything other than sit there and tell you what to do, you call me ya hear?"

Nika did a mock salute. "Yes sir!"

Tala left to meet up with his own team and let them know about the results. Nika was left standing in front of Kai.

"Are you sure you're up for this right now?" she asked. "We can do it later if you're tired ya know."

"Nah, I'm fine. Tala is just a little over-protective, that's all. He worries too much…he's gonna give himself an ulcer one of these days." Kai stood up. "Alright, come on, lets get moving."

Nika put her hands on her hips and stared at him. "Remember your promise…you sit and coach. That's it! Anything more than that and I'm telling on you."

"Jeez , we're not in preschool anymore! Besides, you don't need me to do anything other that tell you what to do. You're getting much better."

Nika glanced at Kai as they walked back into the training room. "You really mean that or are you just being nice?"

Kai smirked. "What do you think?"

"I think you… really mean it."

"Of course I do. I'm not gonna lie to make you feel good about yourself. I'm not that nice. "

"You are nice!"

"Oh sure!" Kai scoffed. "If you believe that than you're delusional."

"I disagree." Nika countered as she put her gloves on. "I think your 'badass tough guy' attitude it a façade. I think you're a lot nicer than you want people to think you are. For some reason you're afraid to let people see the real you… why?" She looked at him expectantly.

Kai's mind froze. It had been a long time since someone had pegged him that way. "_Tiffany…_"

"_What's the matter with you anyway? You got a problem with me or something?" The young girl scowled at the boy in front of her._

"_Maybe. What if I do?" the boy replied testily. _

"_I just got here…you don't even know me so how can you have a problem with me?"_

"_You came in here like you own the place. You act like you're better than the rest of us and then you have the nerve to demand why I am the way I am?? You say I have no right to act this way and yet you don't know me any better than I know you. You re a hypocrite."_

_The girl frowned. "Fine. I'm Tiffany. My parents own the manor on the far end of town. I'm 13 years old and I like ice skating, horseback riding, skiing and bey-blading. Oh, and I'm sorry for being rude. Your turn."_

_The boy sighed. "My name is Kai. I live here and therefore, I don't have to tell you anything else if I don't want to… and I don't want to." He turned and started to walk away. _

"_Hey! What the heck is your problem!?" _

_Kai kept walking until Tiffany grabbed his arm. He spun around and jerked his arm out of her grasp. "Keep your hands off of me." he almost growled._

"_Oh wow. Is that supposed to scare me? Because in case you haven't noticed, I don't care! You think your something special don't you? You think you can boss everyone around and be mean and no one is gonna stand up to you. Well guess what? You're wrong! I'm not a pushover and you're not some tough badass!" _

"Hey Kai? Kai? Hey are you alright?"

Kai blinked and looked at Nika's concerned face. "Uhhh…..yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm a little more tired that I realized that's all."

"Maybe we should practice later. You look a little pale."

"Nah, I'll be ok… You should start warming up a little. Go ask Tyson to help you get started…I'll be over in a sec."

Nika studied his face. "Tyson? You want me to ask Tyson to help me warm up?"

"Yeah sure."

"Tyson?"

"Didn't I just say tha-" Kai noticed the look on Nika's face then. She was looking at him like he had lost his mind. Which he had. He told her to warm up with Tyson…yeah, he had definitely lost his mind. "Ummm…or you can ask Rei if you want. Just go warm up ok?"

"Alright…" Nika said as she walked into the training room.

Kai watched her go in and then walked off towards the restrooms. He went inside, stood in front of the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked like shit… his eyes were bloodshot and there were dark circles under them. He had lost a little weight since he got hurt and his face looked drawn and pale.

"Fuck…" He turned the cold water on and splashed some on his face. He heard the door open and close behind him and let out a sigh. "I don't need your help ya know"

"Yeah I know that."

Kai looked into the mirror and met Tala's gaze through the reflection. "What do you want then?"

Tala leaned on the wall and shrugged. "I cant check up on my friend when he's not well?"

"You were just with me 5mins ago…"

"You weren't acting like this when I left you. Nika was worried and she called me when you left. I came right away."

Kai groaned. "Why are you people doing this to me? Can't you see I just want to be alone for a few minutes?"

"We're doing this because we care about you dumbass!"

"How many times do I havta tell you that I'm fine?"

"Don't you dare start that bullshit with me Kai! I'm not a fool…Don't play me like one! I know when you're fine… and you are most definitely not fine right now. You're not sleeping, you barely eat anything and you wont stop with the practice thing. You want to be left alone? Then talk to me! Let me help you! Or if you don't want my help, at least open up to someone. You're gonna kill yourself if you keep this up."

Kai looked down. "I'm sorry. I'm just not ready yet, that's all. I need more time…you know how I am. I'll be fine eventually and until I get there and I promise I wont do anything stupid."

Tala sighed and walked over to him. "You're already doing something stupid. You thinking you can keep this all bottled up is stupid. It's literally destroying you from the inside out. Look, I'm not gonna stop you from coaching Nika today. But we need to have a serious talk about all this if you want to keep it up ok?"

"Nothing I say will change your mind right?"

"That's right. Just accept your fate…I control this portion of your existence."

"Ass."

Tala smiled. "Go on, Nika is waiting for you. I'll catch up with you later."

"Thanks, I can't wait." Kai said dryly.

Kai left the room and went to find Nika. She was warming up with Rei. She saw him coming over and smiled. "Feeling better?"

"Oh yeah, much better thanks." He glanced at Rei. "How's it going?"

"Good. She's getting much better" He looked at Nika. "You might actually give Tyson a hard time now."

"You're just saying that." Nika said.

"No I mean it! Tyson doesn't have the focus that you do. Focus and drive can win over talent." Rei looked at Kai. "All set or you want me to keep going?"

"No, that's great thanks. You're done for the day."

"Ok, see ya later Nika!" Rei collected his things and left the training room.

Nika looked at Kai. "So you're really up for this? We can always do it later if you want."

"Nah, I'll be fine. We won't go for much longer anyway so I might as well get it over with."

"Geeze, you sound psyched…"

Kai scowled at her. "Shut up."

For the next 45min or so Kai coached Nika and helped her fine-tune some of her skills. By the time they were done, the poor girl was exhausted.

Kai studied her as she sat on one of the benches. "Hmmm…. Maybe we should work some running into your schedule. You need to work on your endurance."

"Ugh. I hate running. And isn't the point of having all of these 'mad skills' that you're teaching me so that I can end a battle quickly?"

"Yeah, but things don't always go as planned. It'd be a shame to loose just because you got tired." Kai smirked, "And don't worry, I can think up a few ways other than running to help with the endurance training."

Kai's mind suddenly made a jump to the perverted side and a whole bunch of XXX rated ideas zipped through his head. _"Whoa…what the fuck is up with that? Get your head outta the gutter!"_ "Ummm… We're done so you can go get cleaned up if you want… its almost 6:00PM."

Nika picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Ok. Walk back with me?" she asked somewhat sheepishly.

Kai shrugged. "Sure."

The two teens started to walk out of the training room and back towards the hotel. Nika paused as they walked out of the door. Kai took a few more steps before he stopped and turned to look at her.

"You gonna stay there?"

"Huh? Oh, no sorry. I was just thinking…"

"About?"

"A few weeks ago… About what happened to you. I…I feel really bad about it still"

Kai groaned. "Ugh. I told you, none of what happened was your fault. Don't let it bother you and just forget about it."

Nika snorted. "Easy for you to say… nothing bothers you. You're like the King of Coolness or something."

"Hardly, but that's besides the point. Look, if you were to blame, I would tell you. But you're not, so just let it go. Stressing about what already happened isn't going to do anybody any good. Got it?"

"Yeah I guess you're right." Nika kicked a rock along the ground as they walked. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why don't you like hospitals?"

Kai blinked. "Uhhh…..that's a weird question."

"Yeah well you freaked out when you were in there and I've been wondering why."

Kai ran his fingers thru his hair. "I uh….had a few bad experiences in hospitals when I was a kid. I guess I never got over them."

"Not from nothing, but that's a bullshit answer."

Kai opened the door to the hotel and they walked inside. The cool air-conditioned lobby was refreshing after the hot humid air outside. The two teens walked over to the elevator and Nika pressed the 'up' button. Kai was quite while they waited for the doors to open.

Nika sighed as they walked in and she pressed the button for the 3rd floor. "I guess you don't want to talk about it."

"It's a little personal that's all."

"Sorry."

The elevator reached the 3rd floor and the doors opened. Kai and Nika walked out and down the hall in silence. Kai stopped when they reached Nika's room. She turned and looked up at him.

"I didn't mean to pry. Sorry for bringing that up…"

"Don't sweat it."

"Ummm…..yeah, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Uh-huh." Kai started to walk down the hall towards his own room when he suddenlly stopped and turned . "Hey, make sure you get plenty of rest tonight. We're gonna havta train extra hard tomorrow. You and Tyson can't afford to loose any of your up-coming battles. I don't think I can bale you guys out if you fail."

"Oh nice! Bale us out! Ha, as if! But thanks for the heads up on tomorrow."

"Yeah whatever. Alright I'm outta here. I'm tired and I need a shower…and so do you."

Nika wrinkled her nose. "Thanks… Later Kai!"

Kai walked to his room, unlocked the door and went in. He leaned on the door for a moment after he closed it. He had left the curtains closed when he left the room before so it was somewhat dark. Kai didn't bother to turn on a light as he walked over to the bed and flopped down on it. Letting out a long sigh, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

His head was killing him…it felt like someone was taking a knife and digging around in his brain. The really weird thing about this headache was that it seemed to get better when he was training. Relaxing made it worse, and sleeping was almost impossible. _"Dammit…what the fuck is up with this? It's been two weeks and it keeps getting worse…"_

Kai groaned and rolled off the bed. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and went to take a shower. Fifteen minutes later, Kai was back on the bed with his arm draped over his eyes. As he lay there, he let his mind wander. The one thing he kept coming back to was Nika. For some reason, he couldn't get her out of his head… "_Maybe Tala was right about her…maybe I do like her more than I realize._"

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on his door. _"Damn, Tala didn't forget about the 'talk' he said we need to have. Shit!" _Kai jumped up as the pounding continued. "Yeah, yeah, hang on a sec!" As Kai walked over to the door and unlocked it he braced himself for a long and totally boring talk from his red-haired friend. It wasn't Tala who greeted him when he open the door though…

* * *

Ta-da! And there ya have it! Another chapter just wrote itself… hopefully its decent enough for public viewing. ;) Please let me know what you all think about it! I personally don't think it's my best, but its not my worst either…but I really want to know what you think. Thanks for reading everyone!


	9. Chapter 9

_As Kai walked over to the door and unlocked it he braced himself for a long and totally boring talk from his red-haired friend. It wasn't Tala who greeted him when he open the door though…_

Nika practically threw herself at Kai as soon as he opened the door. The girl was wrapped in her bath towel and still totally wet from her shower. Her eyes had a wild, terrified look in them. It took Kai a second to process everything besides the fact that she was only in her bath towel and realize that something was seriously wrong.

"What the…? Nika what's going on!?" He pulled her into his room and shut the door behind them.

Nika was clutching onto Kai like her life depended on it and started to sob. "They were in my room Kai! What are they after?" She pressed herself as close to the boy as she could and leaned her head on his chest. "Why are these things happening to me?"

Kai was unaccustomed to dealing with this type of situation. Put him in a room full of people who wanted to kill him and he would know what to do, but this… yeah, he had no clue what to do. He gently put his bare arms around the crying girl and rubbed her back slowly. "I have no idea… but we'll figure it out ok?" Nika nodded but kept on crying.

Kai was really at a loss for what to do for Nika. He needed more details about what happened but first things first. He carefully moved his hands to Nika's shoulders and slowly pushed her off his chest as he took a small step back. He dropped his head so he could look her in the eyes. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

She shook her head and sniffed. 'No…"

"Good. Hang on a sec ok?" Kai turned and walked over to one of the dressers. He pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of pants. He held them out for Nika. "Put those on…I'm gonna call Tala then go to your room."

Nika barely even glanced at the clothes that Kai had in his hand before she once again threw herself at him. "No! Don't leave me!" she sobbed.

Kai blinked, shocked by her reaction. "Ok ok, I wont leave you! Just calm down alright? Everything is going to be fine… You're gonna be ok."

Nika choked back on her sobs and shook her head. "You don't know that!" she snapped.

Kai gently lifted her chin so that she had to look at him. "Yes I do. I'll keep you safe… I promise."

As Nika gazed up at Kai she felt her breath catch in her chest and her heartbeat speed up. _"He's so… amazing._" She could feel the blush that started to spread across her face and quickly looked away. "I should probably put these on huh?" she said as she finally took hold of the clothes that Kai had for her.

"Uhh… Yeah." Kai had noticed the blush and was suddenly finding it difficult to stay focused on the situation at hand. _"Damn fucking hormones… Stop being such a dick and focus!" _he mentally scolded himself. _"The poor girl was just almost attacked and all you can think about is jumping her… way to go idiot! _

Hugging the clothes, Nika walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Kai just stood there for a few moments before he called Tala.

"_Hello?" _

"Hey Tala, it's me."

"_Of course it is… what do you want?"_

"I need you to come to my room. Now."

"_What's wrong?" _

"Can't say over the phone. Just get over here will ya?"

"_On my way…" _

The line went dead just as Nika walked out of the bathroom. The clothes that Kai had given her were obviously too big. She had the sweat pants as tight as they would go at the waist and they still barley stayed up on her hips. She had also tied the t-shirt so it didn't hang off her too much. Kai looked over at her as she hesitated to move past the bathroom door.

"Feel any better?" he asked.

"Eh… a little I guess…"

"There's some soda in the fridge… you should have one."

Nika grabbed a can and then looked at Kai. "You want one?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No thanks."

Suddenly there was a hash knock on the door. Nika just about jumped out of her skin as she unintentionally "hid" behind Kai.

"Relax. It's just Tala." Kai said as he walked over to the door and opened it.

Tala slipped in and quickly shut the door behind him. He had a worried, anxious look on his face. "What's wrong?" he asked. Then the look changed to one of confusion. He had noticed the towel on the floor in the bathroom (from Nika) and saw that both Kai's and Nika's hair was damp. "Uhhh…" His eyes darted back and froth from Nika to Kai. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Kai quizzinglly. "Why is she wearing your clothes? And why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

Kai blinked in confusion. "Wha-?" Then he realized how this must look to a bystander. He groaned mentally as he felt his face warm up slightly. _"Fucking jackass!"_ He turned and walked to the dressed and pulled out a black skintight tank-top. "Nika was almost attacked in her room a few minutes ago." He pulled the shirt over his head. "I need to go check out her room and see if whoever was in there left anything behind." He looked at Nika. "Are you ok if Tala stays here with you?"

"Yeah I guess so…"

Kai went over to the closet and pulled a zip-up hoodie out. "Good. This shouldn't take long. I'll be back in a few…" Before Tala or Nika could say anything else Kai was out the door.

Nika and Tala looked at each other. "How in the hell is he planning on getting in the room without the key-card?"

_____

Kai walked out of his room and went down the hall towards Nika's room. As he walked he worked on straightening out the wire hanger he took out of the closet when he grabbed his hoodie. Thankfully, no one was in the hall so he didn't have to try come up with a good reason for what he was about to do. He stopped when he reached Nika's room and looked up and down the hall one more time before he dropped to his knees and slid the hanger under the door. The one end had a hook in it and he used that to catch the door handle from the inside and pull down. The door opened without a sound and Kai quickly slipped inside and shut it behind him.

Once he was in, he just stood there and let his eyes adjust to the lighting in the room. He didn't want to turn the lights on until he was pretty sure nothing was rigged. His eyes darted around the room searching for anything out of the ordinary. Most everything seemed to be in order but Kai's trained eye picked up on a few small things. It was obvious that someone had been messing around with Nika's stuff. Her phone was on the floor, opened and partially under the bed like someone had dropped it. The nightstand draw was open and most of the things that were in there had been dumped on the floor. Her laptop was also open and it looked like someone had been looking in the documents. Kai walked over to the computer and took a closer look at what was running. The task bar at the bottom of the screen had a Word document titled **"I've been waiting…". **Those few words sent a shiver down Kai's spine. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "He's not here, there's nothing to freak out about…" he told himself.

'**I've been waiting…'** That's something Voltaire said to Kai before one of the most horrifying experience he had to deal with.

_// 15 year old Kai sat on the doorstep looking dejectedly at the driveway. Tiffany had just left a few minuets ago and he was trying to figure out a way to get out of going to see his grandfather. So far, he was drawing a blank.. _

_Sighing, Kai stood up and brushed off his pants. "Well I might as well get this over with…"_

_He walked back inside and gently closed the door… Voltaire hated it when he slammed the door and he didn't want to do anything else to piss the man off. He dragged his feet across the floor as he slowly made his way downstairs to the training room. _

_When he reached the room Voltaire was standing there. "I've been waiting…" he said in a dangerously low voice._

_Kai kept his head down and he shifted his eyes to avoid his grandfathers harsh glare. "Sorry." he mumbled._

_Voltaire's fist connected with Kai's face with extreme force and his head jerked back. He could taste blood but he didn't utter a sound.. He slowly turned his head so that he was looking at the man in front of him. Suddenly, his mood shifted and he became so angry he could hardly stop himself from attacking the older man. A low growl was building in the back of his throat but he held it back. _

_Voltaire noticed the change in his grandson immediately. He sneered and punched the boy again, this time dropping him to his knees. "Was that anger I just saw? Honestly Kai, you should know better than to get angry at me." He kicked him square in the ribs and smiled as Kai coughed up blood. "You should also know better that to keep me waiting when I'm expecting you in here." _

_Voltaire knelt down and roughly pulled Kai's head up by his hair. "Now, three things. One, don't __**ever**__ keep me waiting or I will make you wish you were dead. Two, If you ever give me attitude again I will have you 're-programmed'." Kai shuddered involuntarily at that. 'Re-programming' was something that a few of the kids in the Abby had been thru. They were tortured beyond belief so that only the emotions and personally trait's that were considered appropriate were left. Voltaire continued. "And three, I want you to stop inviting that girl over. Also, you are to stop socializing with her during or after classes. Do you understand?"_

_When Kai didn't answer, Voltaire yanked him to his feet be his hair. "What did I just tell you about keeping me waiting brat?" he growled. _

_Kai remained silent as his grandfather backhanded him. The blow nearly knocked him over again but Voltaire grabbed him by his shirt. His eyes met the older mans and there was something dark and defiant in his glare. "Go to hell." he snarled._

_Voltaire snapped at that. What happened in the following 72hrs is something that would haunt Kai for the rest of his life….\\_

Kai opened his eyes and shuttered. Voltaire had tried to have him 're-programmed' after that day and he would carry the marks that it had left on him to his grave.

He shook his head again. "He's not here…" he repeated as he opened the document.

"Kai, 

It's about time you opened this. I bet you spent the last 5mins. telling yourself that there is nothing to 'flip out' about. Well, you are about to find out just how wrong you are. 

I once promised you that if you ever kept me waiting I would make you wish you were dead. You have kept me waiting for what is rightfully mine for years now Kai and I think its about time to cash in on that promise. As you are reading this right now, I am taking that stupid girl you seem to like. (If you honestly thought that leaving her with Tala would be enough to protect her, you really have lost your edge.) I expect you to meet with me at the hotels restaurant tonight at 7PM sharp to discuss how you wish to move forward from this point. I'm sure I don't have to remind you that if you are late, Nika will pay the price.

-Voltaire"

Kai spun around and ran out of Nika's room and went back to his. He opened the door, rushed inside and froze. The room was empty... they were both gone. There was fresh blood on the carpet, evidence of the fact that Tala tried to fight off whoever it was that came in.

Kai sank to his knees. His fault… This was all his fault. No matter how hard he tired, he couldn't escape his past. The people he cared about always got dragged into his mess…it was those people who paid the price for his mistakes. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to fight back the tears. Despite that, a few leaked out and left hot, wet trails on his face. He sat there like that for a few minuets trying to compose himself before he finally opened his eyes. He looked at the clock by the bed… it read 6:47.

"_Great…just great!"_ he thought as he stood up. He roughly wiped the few tears that lingered on his face away with his sleeve. "Right then…" he said as he turned to the open the door. "Time to take care of this…"

As he walked out of his room, anyone who might have seen him would probably have turned and run the other way. He was out for blood now, and that was reflected in his eyes which burned with a black flame. Kai had put up with a lot of bullshit from his grandfather over the years but this time Voltaire Hiwatari had pushed his grandson too far and there was no turning back. One of them wasn't going to make it out of this in one piece…

---------

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Ok people, here it is! So what did you think? Loved it? Hated it? Please, please please let me know! I didn't get any reviews on the last chapter (waaa!) so I don't know where I stand here. Help me out! Let me know what you think! It really does help me a lot. Thanks everyone!


	10. Chapter 10

//A.N Just FYI this chapter has some under-age drinking in it. Please don't think that I'm suggesting that this is something that is ok do...cuz its not… You have been warned. If you drink underage and get caught, don't come crying to me! ;) (The trick is to not get caught… as long as you don't get caught its all good. Hehehe) \\

Kai walked into the hotels restaurant at 6:58. His eyes darted around the room until he spotted his grandfather sitting at a table towards the back. Kai's hands balled up into fists and his eyes narrowed as Voltaire noticed him and motioned for him to come over.

When he reached the table he just stood there and glared down at the older man. "You are one sick bastard, you know that?" he hissed in Russian.

Voltaire looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Is that anyway to talk to your elders? You should know better that to speak to me that way, especially since I have something you want."

Kai clenched his fists tighter and dug his nails into his hands until he drew blood. His jaw tensed and he choked back the long string of curse words he wanted to throw at the man sitting in front of him.

Voltaire smirked as he saw his grandson tense. "Sit" he commanded.

Kai contemplated ignoring the instruction but decided it wasn't a good idea to push Voltaire's buttons… after all, he did have 'hostages'. He pulled a chair out and slowly sat down, glaring at his grandfather the entire time. "Look, we both know that I'm not going to do what you want so why don't we just skip all the bullcrap and get to the point where you just let Nika and Tala go alright?"

Voltaire picked up a glass that was half filled with what looked like Scotch and took a sip. He took his time setting the glass down before he looked at the teenager sitting across from him. "I have a better idea." he started. "How about, you actually do what I tell you to do for once in your life and I promise I wont kill your friends? How's that sound to you?"

Kai shifted in his seat and opened his mouth to answer but at that moment the waiter came by to ask if he wanted anything. Before he could answer, Voltaire cut in and ordered a top-shelf Vodka straight up and sent the man away. Kai looked at Voltaire. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Buying you a drink. Have your tastes changed much in the past three years or do you still enjoy Vodka?"

"I'm 18... In the US the legal drinking age is 21."

"So? Unless I'm mistaken, you never really had a problem with breaking the law."

"Hn."

Just then, the waiter came back with the drink and placed it on the table casting an uncertain look towards Kai. Voltaire slipped the man a $50.00 and winked at him. The man nodded and scurried away. Kai rolled his eyes as Voltaire pushed the drink towards him. "Drink. You wont get in trouble I promise."

"No."

"No?"

"If there's anything you taught me over the years it's to never trust your enemies."

"You think I drugged it?"

Kai just looked at him.

Voltaire sighed. "I didn't lace it with anything." he took a sip. "See? Totally safe. Now drink."

Kai looked at the glass, finally grabbed it and took a sip. The clear liquid burned slightly going down, but it was good. "So," he said putting the glass down, "what is it that you want from me this time?"

Voltaire put something on the table in front of Kai. "I want you to use this."

Kai's eyes narrowed as he looked in disgust at what his grandfather had placed on the table. "Black Dranzer. You want me to use that thing?"

"I want you to unleash the power that we both know only you possess. When in your hands, Black Dranzer becomes one of the most powerful forces on the planet…you are the only one who can control that power Kai."

Kai had been taking another sip of his drink and he almost choked on it when he heard that. "Wha- What?! Are you insane? I almost died the last time I tried to "unleash the power" of Black Dranzer. And besides, I'm doing just fine without it. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't lost a match in quite a while…I don't need Black Dranzer anymore than I need you, so you can both go rot in hell."

Voltaire sighed. "I don't care about any of that. I know that you have an incredible record and that you seriously outclass everyone in this stupid competition. I want you to use Black Dranzer to gain control of all the other bit beasts. We wont start until after the competition to avoid unnecessary complications. As for what happened last time… I've got that covered. It won't happen again."

Kai stared at Voltaire as he started to lose his temper. "You sick son of a bitch! Who the fuck do you think you are? I am not going to be your puppet in this pointless twisted game. It won't work and you know it! I'm not using this piece of shit and there's nothing you can do to make me change my mind!"

Voltaire's eyes flashed. "Actually, I think I can make you change your mind. You seem to forget that I have Nika and Tala. All I have to do is make a call and they will suffer more than you can imagine. The longer you make me wait for what I want, the more they suffer. Can you live with that Kai?"

Kai's mind was in turmoil. He swore that he would never again use the power that Black Dranzer has… but Voltaire was forcing him to reconsider everything. If he said no, Nika and Tala were as good as dead. And it wouldn't stop with that… Voltaire would keep trying until he found the right trigger to use. If he said he'd use Black Dranzer, than the word as he knew it was over.

Kai drank down the rest of his drink before he answered. "If (and that's a really big if ), if I agrees to use that," he motioned towards Black Dranzer "than I'm going to want a few things in return."

Voltaire scoffed at him. "And what makes you think that you are in a position to make demands like that?"

Kai leaned forwards in his seat. "Because, if my terms aren't met, I'm going to kill myself and then you have nothing to work with." he said in a low voice.

Voltaire paused for a moment and studied the boy sitting across from him. The man knew his grandson very well and he could tell when he was bluffing…and he was most definitely not bluffing about killing himself. Voltaire sighed. "Very well, name your terms."

* * *

About two and a half and hours later Voltaire and Kai walked out of the restaurant into the parking lot. They stopped at the curb and waited for the car that was coming to drop off Nika and Tala.

Voltaire glanced at Kai out of the corner of his eye. "I'll have someone pick you up as soon as this competition ends, is that clear?"

Kai hung his head slightly and the fire had died from his eyes. "Yeah, sure." he muttered.

There was a black car coming across the parking lot towards them. "She won't remember what happened to her right?" Kai asked watching the car.

"Correct. She has been given a serum so she won't remember much about the last 24hrs. You'll have to come up with a story or something to tell her but I'm sure that won't pose much of a problem…lying is second nature to you now isn't it?"

"Hn."

The car pulled up to the curb and stopped. The back door opened and Tala got out but Nika was still sitting; pale and unconscious in the front seat. Kai turned to Voltaire. "What's wrong with her?" he demanded.

"Nothing, its just one of the effects of the serum. She'll be just fine, aside from a slight headache, in about an hour."

Kai and Tala helped get her out of the car. Voltaire got in and looked at Kai. "See you soon." he said and then the car pulled away and drove off.

Tala looked over at Kai. "What was tha-"

"Let's get her inside." Kai cut him off and stared to walk towards the side entrance into the hotel.

"Hey wait up!" Tala rushed to keep up with him. "Kai what the hell was that all about? Hey don't walk away from me!!" Tala reached out and grabbed Kai's free arm.

Kai whipped his head around and glared at Tala. "Let go of me!" he snapped.

Tala released him and took an involuntary step back. Kai kept walking and brought Nika inside, leaving Tala standing out in the dark. "Kai…what did he do to you?" Tala whispered.

* * *

Kai was sitting on the foot of Nika's bed waiting for her to wake up. He had his head down and he was staring at the floor thoughtfully.

Tala was sitting in one of the chairs looking at him in disbelief. "You're kidding me right?" he asked.

Kai shook his head. "Nope. I wish I was but I'm not." He paused and then looked up. "Tala, you have to promise me something ok?"

"Hm? Yeah what?"

"Look after her…it's gonna be hard for her to deal with this I think."

"Yeah sure, but this isn't…I mean you're not really going through with all of this are you?"

Kai shrugged. "Don't see a way out of it yet. I'll figure something out eventually but…"

Tala stood and walked over to him. "Kai… I'm sorry. I said I wouldn't let this happen to you. I let you down and-"

"Oh shut it. This isn't your fault so don't blame yourself."

"Yeah but - "

"No damn it!!" Kai stood up and glared at him. "Don't you even start, you understand me? You pull your head out of your fucking ass or so help me, I will do it for you."

Tala and Kai looked at each other for a few moments before Tala smirked. "You really are one of a kind, you know that?"

Kai face softened a little. "Yeah well what can I say, I guess they broke the mold with me huh?" Suddenly his eyes darkened again. "Hey, I didn't mean to snap at you outside. That was uncalled for and I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I understand what being around that scum-bag can do to you. I'm actually kinda surprised that you didn't punch me in the face. "

"Speaking of, do you want an ice pack for your eye? Looks like you're gonna have a nice shiner… and a fat lip."

"Nah, I'm fine. It'll make a good story to tell everyone at the tournament… maybe I can get some sympathy from the competition?" he arched an eyebrow and looked at Kai…who promptly punched him in the arm.

"In your dreams Tala."

"Well some friend you are!" Tala said jokingly. He looked past Kai at Nika. "She should be waking up soon right?"

Kai looked at the clock. "Yeah, I hope so. It's been just over and hour since we got her back here."

Tala nodded. "I should go back to my room. Ryan (AN. Remember him? He knocked Nika out in chapter 5) is going ape-shit… that kid has serious issues. I think Spencer and Bryan are gonna kill me if I leave them alone with him much longer. You ok here with her?"

"Uh-huh, I'm fine." Kai's eyes shifted slightly when he said that and Tala frowned.

"Kai… Don't lie to me."

"I'm not! It- it's nothing, I was just thinking."

Tala ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Ok then, I'll let it slide this time." He walked over to the door and opened it. "See you later right?"

"Yeah. Take it easy ok?"

Tala nodded. "Will do."

"And Tala?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for everything you've done for me."

"Uhh…your welcome?" Tala walked out of the room and closed the door. "That was weird… what did he mean by that?" he muttered as he walked away.

* * *

Ta-da!! So what do you think of this one? Don't really know why, I love the interaction between Kai and Tala. I just like them as good friends and for some reason it's really easy for me to write them hanging out. Think I might take it too far sometime though. Thoughts? Comments? Lemme know!

I don't know what's come over me lately, but I'm really enjoying writing again! Hopefully you guys like reading it…please let me know if you do! The last chapter was the second one in a row without reviews so I dunno… this makes me sadL . I do like constructive criticism, so don't be shy about offering ideas about what I can do better! Free cookies to everyone who reviews! Lol J Thanks you guys!


	11. Chapter 11

/A.N. Hey everyone! Just a quick note… towards the end of this chapter, I have to switch POV"s a few times in rapid succession, but hopefully its not too confusing. If anyone has any ides on how I can do it better in the future, please let me know! Thanks! \\

Kai laid down at the foot of Nika's bed and closed his eyes for a minute. He was dreading what he had to do when the girl woke up. He knew that breaking things off with her (and everyone for that matter) was the best thing to do, but damn it was hard.

He sighed deeply and rubbed his temples, trying to alleviate the pounding headache he was dealing with. It had gotten better after the few drinks he had but it was back full force now. _"Maybe I should start drinking again…"_ he thought.

He suddenly felt Nika move so he opened his eyes and sat up. The girl looked like she was waking from a deep sleep. She yawned and sat up, stretching her arms above her head. Then she noticed Kai.

She let out a small yelp of surprise. "Ahh! Kai! What are you doing here?"

"Nothing, just waiting for you to wake up. Are you feeling ok?"

"Uh… yeah I guess so." she paused, a puzzled look on her face. "I don't remember letting you into my room… how did you get in here?"

"I came in with you. Look, I don't want to freak you out or anything but I need to know what's the last thing you remember?"

"The last thing I remember is… training with you and Rei? Is that right? I can't really remember. What's wrong with me? What happened?" she demanded slightly panicked.

"You got hit in the head when we were walking back after practice. Some idiot was playing baseball outside of the fields and line-drove the ball right into the back of your head and I brought you back here. You've been in and out of consciousness for the last few hours. I was just about to bring you to the hospital for a CT scan but if you think you're ok than I wont. So I'll ask you again… are you feeling ok?"

Nika blinked a few times and rubbed the back of her head…there was a pretty big knot there. (Kai had checked her over before and knew that the bump was there… he guessed she put up a bit of a fight when Voltaire's men took her.) "Well I do have a headache but other than that I feel fine. Is that bad?"

"No, that's good. Can you stand up and walk without getting dizzy?"

Nika slowly got out of bed and walked a few steps. "Nope, I'm not dizzy or anything."

Kai let out a big sigh of relief and some of the tension relaxed from his shoulders. "Good. That's good. You should be just fine after you get some rest then." he said as he stood up.

Nika looked at him. "Hey is something wrong? You seem a little off."

"No, I'm fine. I was just wor-" Kai caught himself before he said what he was really feeling. _"No! You have to break it off so the less concern you show the better."_ "Uhh… I was just wondering how much longer I was going to have to baby-sit you. I have some other things I have to do. Its not my job to look after you ya know." he finished bitterly.

Nika was shocked and hurt. Kai had never said anything in that tone to her before. "I… I'm sorry." she said.

Kai could see the pain in her eyes and it killed him to have to keep doing this. He choked back his own pain and turned for the door. "Hn. Whatever. Get some rest." He walked out of her room, closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound of Nika's sobs as he walked away.

Kai walked past his room and took the stairs up to the roof. Thankfully the door had been left unlocked and walked outside. The wind whipped through his hair and pulled at his clothes as he stood there. He eventually went over to the edge of the building and sat, letting his legs dangle down. Leaning back on his elbows he looked up at the stars in the clear night sky. A single tear glistened as it slid down his cheek and fell to the ground.

* * *

Kai stayed up on the roof all night and most of the following morning. Tyson was frantic not knowing where his teams captain was.

"Where the hell is he? He knows how importing this competition is!"

Rei rolled his eyes and sighed. "Come on Tyson, Kai won't let us down. I'm sure he's just busy with something else, that's all."

"Oh yeah, like what?" Tyson demanded, folding his arms across his chest like a petulant child. "What's more important than helping his team right before a huge match?"

"Oh please…this competition isn't _that_ important Tyson." Kai said as he crossed the training room to where the rest of the team sat. "The only reason I agreed to do this one is because you needed the practice. Honestly, you're getting downright sloppy lately and it's disgraceful to say the least. I'm almost embarrassed to be on the same team as you."

Hiro and Rei both looked at Kai in shock. They had never heard the Russian speak to any of them like that before. Kenny ignored the whole situation by busying himself typing on Dizzy. Hillary pretended to suddenly be very interested in what Kenny was doing. Nika hadn't joined them yet and Tyson was…being and idiot and trying to pick a fight.

"Where the hell have you been?" he demanded jumping up from the bench he was sitting on.

"None of your business." Kai said, dropping his bag to the floor.

"It is too my business! We're on the same team ya know!"

Kai turned his glare to Tyson. "Shut the fuck up will ya, Tyson! I'm so sick and tired of dealing with your fucking bullshit all the time! I do not answer to you or anyone else on this pathetic team, you understand me?" he snapped.

Tyson stepped back, his eyes wide with fear. There was something almost wild and dangerous in Kai's eyes and it scared the shit out of him.

Hiro stepped in and tried to defuse the situation. "Take it easy guys… Tyson, go sit down for a bit. Kai, can we talk for a second?'

Kai looked at him and nodded. The two males walked a little ways away from the rest of the group. Hiro studied Kai's face as he spoke. "What was that about?"

Kai shrugged. "Nothing, I'm just tired I guess."

"Bullshit! Tell me what's going on Kai."

"It's really none of your business Hiro. I'm sorry ok."

Hiro shook his head, it was pretty clear that Kai wasn't going to open up and start talking. "Fine, I cant make you tell if you don't want to, but listen, whether you like it or not you are still a member of this team, and as a member of this team you will be respectful of the others. You had no right to snap at Tyson like that! Now, apologize so we can get on with our day."

Kai groaned. "Why should I apologize? He totally deserved that and -." Kai was going to go on but he saw Nika walk in and start making her way over to them. Her head hung low and her hair covered her face. Kai could tell from her body-language that she was seriously upset…probably the result of what happed during the previous night.

Hiro noticed Kai looking at Nika so he glanced at her. He turned his gaze back to Kai. 'What's her problem?'

Kai shrugged. "How the hell should I know?"

Hiro groaned. "Damnit Kai, what is your problem today?"

"Forget it ok? I told you, I'm tired and I don't feel well so lets just get this over with so I can go relax." Kai walked away from Hiro and grabbed his stuff form his duffel bag. He motioned to Rei. "Come on, lets go warm up."

Rei followed Kai over to one of the dishes and pulled out his blade. "Are you ok?" he asked, his voice soft and low with concern.

Kai sighed and put Dranzer in his launcher. "I'm fine… just tired. Ready?" he held the launcher out in front of him.

"Yeah…" Rei followed Kai's lead and they launched their blades at the same time.

Kai was having a hard time focusing on the warm up drills. He went through the motions, but his heart wasn't in it. He felt awful for treating everyone the way he was, but felt he had no other choice. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nika warming up with Tyson. Hiro was watching them and offering criticism when it was warranted. It seemed that both the teens were having a tough time focusing as well. Kai frowned slightly as he thought about what he had said to both Nika and Tyson. He could only imagine how they must be feeling… he had been cruel to both of them and he hated himself for that. Suddenly his focus was ripped back to his blade…

Rei noticed Kai's attention wandering and decided to give him a minute to regain his focus. He waited patiently for a while but in the end decided to do something to help the Russian out. He focused his energy as Drigger slammed into Dranzer, almost driving it out of the dish.

Kai snapped out his stupor when Rei's blade smashed into his and he narrowed his eyes in concentration. He forced Drigger back and then whipped Dranzer around and crashed it into other blade, sending it flying out of the dish. "Hn… that was easy." he muttered as he summoned Dranzer back to him.

Rei reached down and picked his blade up, examining it closely. Kai's Dranzer had hit it really hard and he wanted to make sure Drigger wasn't damaged. "Why did you do that? This only practice, remember?" he asked.

"If you're not going to treat it like it's a real match, why bother? Come on Kon, I'm not here to play. Again! And put a little effort into it this time will ya?"

Rei furrowed his brow as he launched his blade again. Something was off… this just wasn't like Kai. Sure he was a little obsessive about training sometime but it had been years since he had behaved like this. _"No, he was never this bad before."_ he thought.

Out of the corner of his eye Rei noticed Tala and Ryan walking into the training room. Tala's gaze immediately went to Kai and lingered there. Rei was about to say something to Kai about Tala's presence when the boy suddenly hissed in anger.

Kai noticed Tala walking in and watching him. He hissed, not wanting to deal with his friend at the moment. _"Kinda busy right now Tala… So fuck off!"_ he thought darkly.

Suddenly, the bleak mood Kai was already in shifted and changed. He seemed to hear a voice in his head, beckoning him to unleash the power he was holding in check. _"Just let me go…let me help you teach them all a lesson master. You don't need them… all they do is bog you down and get in your way, telling you to temper your true power and strength. Now, lets show them how strong you really are!"_ The voice, smooth as oil, seeped through Kai's defenses and he snapped. He could feel the anger taking over…and it was great. His eyes darkened and he grinned maliciously. Focusing on Dranzer, Kai let all the rage he was feeling give power to the blade.

Glancing up at Rei, he smirked. "It's over." he said almost evilly.

Rei looked at him questioningly. "Huh?"

Dranzer zipped through the dish with such speed that it wasn't even visible. It collided with Drigger over and over again, and before Rei could grasp what was happening, his blade flew from the dish. Rei barley had time to gasp as Drigger came spinning thru the air…and it was aimed straight for his head...

* * *

Well here ya go. Hope its ok…lemme know k? Seriously, lemme know. I'm getting a little depressed that I haven't gotten any reviews in a while. :(


	12. Chapter 12

_Rei barley had time to gasp as Drigger came spinning thru the air…and it was aimed straight for his head..._

* * *

Tala noticed the change in Kai as soon at it happened. He narrowed his icy blue eyes when he saw what Kai was about to do. It had been years since he had seen those moves and it scared the shit out of him to see them again. "No fucking way…" he hissed under his breath. He barked a quick order to Ryan and both boys darted forward.

* * *

Rei on the other hand, didn't have time to do anything… so he just closed his eyes in anticipation of the pain he knew was only a nanosecond away. The moment after he closed his eyes, his whole body jerked sideways and he suddenly felt himself falling. He opened his eyes just in time to see his blade whiz by overhead. He hit the floor hard and his breath came out in a 'whoosh' as he felt someone fall on top of him.

* * *

Kai hardly knew what he was doing… all he knew was that it felt great. He hadn't felt this much power flowing through him in such a long time. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew something was wrong…knew that what he was doing was wrong, but that part of him was powerless to do anything to stop what he was doing. He forced Dranzer to slam into Rei's blade over and over again…and then with one last hit, he sent Drigger flying out of the dish, directing it right at Rei.

Kai was so focused on the task at hand that he didn't even notice the two people darting across the room towards him and Rei. Just before Drigger collided with its master, Rei was tackled to the floor. At the same moment something hit Kai's jaw - hard. His head snapped to the side and he took two steps back. Furious and not even thinking, he raised his fist and aimed it at the person who had punched him.

"Do it and I'll kick your sorry ass into next week!" Tala growled at him. He held his arms up and in front of him, protecting his body in case Kai did actually attack him.

"T - Tala?" Kai blinked, the darkness fading from his eyes as he seemed to once again be aware of his surroundings. "What in the…?" He looked past Tala and saw Ryan helping Rei get back on his feet. Kai's gaze darted back to Tala. "What did I just do?" he asked. There was a certain amount of fear creeping into his voice.

Tala relaxed his stance and took a step forward. Kai retreated one step, keeping distance between him and his friend. The panic he felt was clearly reflected in his eyes.

"Take it easy Kai." Tala said evenly. "Just calm down alright?"

By this time Hiro had stopped Nika's and Tyson's practice and the three of them were watching Tala and Kai intently.

"Answer me Tala!" Kai snapped. "What the fuck did I just do?"

Tala sighed and looked over his shoulder at Hiro and the rest of the gang. "Lets not talk about it here ok?"

Kai's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my gosh… "

Tala could see that he understood what he had done. He noticed Kai starting to shake and realized he had to get him out of here before he had a nervous breakdown. "Come on, lets go outside for a minute." he said, as he walked over to the other teen and started guiding him towards the doors.

Kai allowed Tala to lead him for a few steps before he stopped and turned back to his confused team mates. He looked straight at Rei. "I'm sorry." he said, the guilt and pain he felt over what he had done was evident in his tone. "I'm so sorry."

Rei nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah, it's ok. Just don't do that again alright?"

Tala pulled lightly at Kai's wrist. "Come on."

Tala led him outside and away from all the buildings before Kai finally lost it. Dropping to his knees he heaved loudly several times, coughing up bile since he hadn't eaten anything since the day before.

Tala stood a little ways away from him till he was done. Kai finally rocked back on his heels and just sat there. Tala walked over to him placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly, but didn't say anything.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Tala asked.

Kai sat silent for quite a while. Tala was about to give up and leave him alone when he suddenly took a deep shuttering breath and muttered something softly.

Tala felt the blood drain from his face as he looked at him. "What was that?"

"I said I want to die…" Kai said darkly. He looked up over his shoulder and Tala was somewhat shocked to see that there were tears on Ka's face. "If this is what it's gonna be like, I wont be able to live with myself Tala." He replayed his last attack over and over again in his mind. "I was about to kill Rei…kill him! He's my friend for fucks sake and I was about to slice his throat wide open. The thing of it is, I wasn't even aware of any of that." Kai paused, trying to regain his composure. "I cant let myself go back to that… If I go there again, I'll never be able to pull out. Black Dranzer is much stronger this time around… either that or I'm weaker than I used to be."

Tala sat next to Kai and looked over at him. "I doubt that you're any weaker now than you were 3 or 4 years ago. If anything, you've gotten stronger. Voltaire probably did something to enhance BD's power."

Kai snorted. "Oh fan-fucking-tastic."

"Kai… you promised me you would never try to kill yourself again after I found you that time. Can I still hold you to that?"

Kai shook his head. "I… I don't know Tala. If it's a matter of my life or someone else's, I'd hope I could chose the right one, and that may mean taking my own life." He glanced over at the red-head. "You understand where I'm coming from right?"

"Sure I guess." Tala was worried though. Kai hadn't been in a state like this since Tiffany died and he tried to off himself. There were plenty of other times when the boy had been depressed, but it had never again driven him to the point he was at now. At least not that he knew of. Kai was good at keeping secrets, but Tala could usually read him like an open book. He shook his head in defiance. "Kai look, I do get where you're coming from but there has to be another way."

"Yeah well when you figure out that other way be sure to let me know." Kai mumbled.

Suddenly, both boys heard a noise behind them. Tala jumped to his feet and Kai looked over his shoulder. Ryan stood a few feet away from them. Rei and Nika stood a few paces behind him, looking worried. Kai groaned audibly and looked away.

Tala glanced down at Kai and frowned, then walked up to Ryan. "Everything alright?" he asked looking past him to Rei and Nika.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, its just that they wanted to see if he was ok and since they wouldn't shut up about it I thought I should come too. Is he ok?"

"No, not even close, but they don't need to know that." he answered quietly.

Kai finally stood up and walked over to Tala and Ryan. "Why are they here?" he asked nodding towards Rei and Nika.

Ryan looked at him. "They're worried about you." he said bluntly.

Kai sighed and went over to his anxious teammates. He looked at Rei. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm ok. A little concerned about you though…"

"I'm fine." Kai said curtly. "Just tired."

Nika cleared her throat a little. "Um… Yeah, you know we don't buy that excuse right?"

Kai dropped his head slightly and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Look, I said I was sorry. I'm tired and I don't feel good… I have an awful headache that's making it hard to focus on things. I must have lost control of Dranzer… that's all there is to it."

Ryan and Tala walked up and stood next to Kai. Tala glanced at Kai out of the corner of his eye. He was extremely pale and he was sweating. He turned his gaze to Rei and Nika. "I think you guys should go back inside. Let Hiro know that Kai is done for the day… he'll be in his room if the team needs him for anything."

Tala spoke in an authoritative tone and as much Rei and Nika didn't want to go just yet, they knew they had no choice.

"Ok." Rei said starting to turn back to the building. "Hey Kai?"

"Hm?"

"Take care of yourself ok? Let me know if you need anything."

"Sure thing Kon, thanks."

Nika looked at Kai. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. Kai shook his head at her, understanding that she was struggling with wanting to stay and help. She shut her mouth and gave him a small smile before turning to catch up with Rei.

Ryan watched them walk off. He tilted his head to the side a little and looked over at Tala. "Want me to go with em?" he asked.

Tala shrugged. "I guess if you want. It doesn't really matter at this point." Turning to Kai he said, "You should get back to your room and try to rest a bit. You look like shit."

Kai just nodded and started to walk back toward the hotel. Tala and Ryan watched him go.

"You think he's gonna be ok?" Ryan asked.

"I honestly have no idea."

* * *

Kai absent-mindedly walked back to the hotel. Once inside, he made his way towards his room but stopped in front of the door. He stared at it for about 2 minutes before he started walking again. Eventually, Kai found his way back onto the roof. He sat down and leaned back on the wall next to the door, closing his eyes. He sat like that for quite some time, not sleeping, but not really self-aware at the same time. After a while, he came out of his trance like state and opened his eyes.

"_How could I have been so stupid?"_ he mentally chided himself. _"I got careless and let my guard down… I should have known better than to keep that damned thing with me."_

He pulled the Black Dranzer Bit-chip out of his pocket and glowered at it. "Never again will you get the better of me you piece of shit." he mumbled. Then he laughed softly. "Ha! Damn Kai, you really have totally lost your mind if you've started talking to inanimate objects!"

He put the bit-chip back in his pocket and stood up. He was somewhat surprised to notice that the sun had started to set already, meaning he had been up on the roof all afternoon. He cracked his neck and stretched his arms over his head… and then spun around. He had heard something behind him and, fast as lightning, he was in a fighting stance with his center of gravity low and his fists raised. He quickly lowered them however when he saw who had alarmed him in the first place.

"Rei!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." he apologized.

"No, it's fine. What's up?"

"Nothing, I just figured you might be up here."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Tala told you I'd be in my room."

Rei chuckled. "I think I know you a little better than that! You never do what your told. Besides, when you want to be alone you don't usually hang out in places where it's easy for people to find you. Oh, and if memory serves me right, you spent most of your alone time up on the roof tops when you first joined the team"

Kai smirked. "Yeah ok fine, you got me there. You really pay attention to the little details, don't you? But seriously, what are you doing up here?"

"I just wanted to talk to you I guess." Rei said as he nervously shrugged his shoulders.

Kai tensed a little. "About what?"

"You know what..." Rei looked over at him and sighed. "Relax! I'm not mad at you for what happened. I'm confused and upset, but I'm not mad and I don't blame you. I just want to understand what happened, that's all."

Kai groaned. "Ugh… Look, I already told you -"

"You told us a lie!" Rei interrupted him, golden eyes flashing. "You may be able to fool Nika with that BS, but I've known you a lot longer that she has, so that trick wont work on me."

Kai looked away and shifted his weight uncomfortably, but he didn't say anything.

"Kai, I just want to know what going on with you. If there's anything I can do to -"

"There's nothing you can do ok!" Kai cut him off angrily. "I… I cant tell you what's going on and even if I could there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it! You really wanna help? Than butt out of my life!" Kai loaded his words with as much venom as he could manage, but inside it was tearing him up. He wanted so much to tell Rei what was really going on… but he had to stick to his plan. He had to push all his friends away again… he had to keep them away or else he might end up pulling them down and destroying them all.

Rei was visibly hurt by Kai's words and tone. He studied the Russians face for any sign that the boy didn't really mean what he had just said, but there was nothing. Kai's eyes were clear and sure and his posture was confident, not defensive like it would have been if he was lying. Rei nodded slowly. "So that's how it is now huh? We're back to this… Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you. I guess we'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Yeah, sure."

Rei turned and walked towards the door. He grabbed the handle and opened the it, but paused halfway through. He looked back at Kai with un-shed tears in his eyes. "I don't know why you feel the need to hide behind this wall again Kai, but it scares me. I hope you know that you can still trust us… all of us. We're a team, but more than that, we're like a family and no matter what, we'll always be there for each other. Never forget that"

Rei closed the door before Kai could answer.

* * *

Well there ya have it... Sorry for the POV changes in the the beginning of the chapter. I tried to re-write if so it wasn't like that, but it just wasn't working out right so I left it alone. Kinda thought you might to see something from me even though it's not perfect. Then again, maybe I'm wrong. Lemme know what you think please? It'll help me a lot! Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13

**/ Hi Again! So after all this time I'm back! Yay! Party! ...Yeah not really. Sorry for the loooooong delay in getting this up. My job has taken over my life and I've barely had time to relax in the last 4 months or so. But enough about that... you're not here to listen to me whine about crap. ;) Enjoy the chapter! Special thanks to kaihil lover for reviewing! You get a large sugary item of your choice! \\**

_

* * *

_

_Rei turned and walked towards the door. He grabbed the handle and opened the door, but paused halfway through. He looked back at Kai with tears in his eyes. "I don't know why you feel the need to hide behind this wall again Kai, but it scares me. I hope you know that you can still trust us… all of us. We're a team, but more than that, we're like a family and no matter what, we'll always be there for each other. Never forget that" _

_Rei closed the door before Kai could answer. _

Kai stayed on the roof for a while after Rei left. He was trying to process what the Chinese boy had told him. "Like a family huh?" he said softly.

Family wasn't something Kai liked to think about much. His own family was so messed up he had effectively blocked the memories of most of the times that he had interaction with them. As far as he was concerned, he didn't need his family at all. But his team… Rei was right about that. They were all like a family. Through all the ups and downs over the years, none of them had ever given up on each other. They all trusted one another, and now he was betraying that trust. He shook his head sharply. "It doesn't matter anymore… By tomorrow none of this will matter…"

Kai went back inside and started to head back towards his room. He swiped his key-card and entered his room. There was an envelope on the floor that had been slipped under the door. Kai made a face as he picked it up…. no doubt it was something from Voltaire. He tore it open and read the note that was inside. Kai smirked bleakly as he read it; it seemed the old man was wising up. He had written up a 'contract' of sorts that covered all of Kai's demands as well as the elder Hiwatari's stipulations. Kai carelessly tossed the contract on the desk as he walked by, deciding that he wouldn't worry about it tonight.

He grabbed a change of clothes and took a hot shower, trying to clear his head. By the time he was done, it was close to 11:00pm. Sighing, Kai flopped down on the bed, turned the TV on and started flipping through the channels. There was nothing on that grabbed his interest and after half and hour, he just turned if off. He sat in silence for a while, letting his mind wander. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he jumped slightly when he heard a soft knock on his door…

**A few hours earlier…**

Rei and Nika walked back to the training room after Ryan led them out to see Kai. They were both quite as they made their way back. Once inside, Nika stopped and turned to Rei.

"What's going on for real?" she asked.

Rei shrugged. "I wish I could tell you, but I have no idea."

"Do you think he's telling us the truth?"

Rei thought about that for a minute. He was pretty sure that Kai was lying to them, but if Nika didn't know that, maybe it was better to let her believe the lie. "I don't know. What do you think?" he asked.

Nika shook her head. "I don't know what to think. I guess we should take him at his word though."

Rei sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right. Come on, we should get back to practicing."

"Ok." Nika nodded and followed Rei back over to where the rest of the team was sitting.

They all practiced for a bit longer before Hiro called it good for the day and told them all to go take it easy until tomorrow. He said he wanted to make sure they were all well rested for the final round of the competition. Nika couldn't help but wonder if the real reason he was letting them off early was because none of them could concentrate very well after what had happened.

Nika packed her things into her bag and walked outside. She stood there on the sidewalk and closed her eyes for a moment, letting the sun warm her face. Opening her eyes, she noticed Tala and Ryan talking a little ways away from her. She shouted over to the two boys and waved as she walked towards them. "Hi guys! what's up?"

Ryan's whole face lit up when he saw her coming over. "Hey Nika!"

Tala smiled a little. "Hey."

"What are you guys up to?"

"Not much." Ryan replied. "Just going over some strategies for tomorrow."

"Wanna share em with me?" Nika asked sweetly.

"Hell no! Unless you wanna share your plans with us." Ryan countered.

Nika pretended to think about it. "Hmm… Well, ok, I guess I can tell you one of our plans" she paused for effect. "We're gonna kick your butts tomorrow for sure!"

Ryan laughed. "Sure, that's what you think!"

Nika and Ryan bickered back and forth for a little while before the conversation took a turn.

"Hey Tala, what was up with Kai?" Nika asked.

Tala and Ryan exchanged a quick glance. "He's not feeling well, that's all." Tala lied.

"Is that really it?"

"Yeah, as far I know."

"He wasn't' very nice to me last night…maybe he wasn't feeling good then either…" she said softly.

"Last night?" Tala asked innocently.

"Yeah, I got hurt yesterday and he stayed with me for a little while. He was fine until just before he left and then he got kinda mean all of a sudden." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be bothering you with this… I'm probably just overreacting, that's all."

Tala nodded but remained silent.

"Well, I should get going I guess. Thanks you guys! Good luck tomorrow!" Nika said with a wink as she walked away. She didn't notice the uneasy look that passed between Tala and Ryan as they waved goodbye to her.

Nika went to her room and changed into something a little more presentable than the clothes she had been practicing in. She grabbed her purse and a book and went downstairs to grab something for a late lunch. After she was done eating, she sat in the lobby of the hotel and started to read her book. She became so engrossed in the novel that she didn't even realize how late it was getting… it was already dark out. She gathered her things and went back to her room to take a shower.

When Nika walked out of the bathroom after she was done, she noticed something on the floor in the corner of the room. "Hm? What's that?" she muttered as she walked over to look at it. It appeared to be… a wire coat hanger? But it was straightened out and had hook on the one end. "Well that's weird. It kinda looks like… Oh crap! Someone broke into my room!"

Her eyes darted around the room, searching for something out of place but there was nothing. She frowned, wondering what the heck was going on when suddenly, she seemed to remember something about being in Kai's room when someone broke in and… "Oh my gosh…" she whispered as the events of the previous day came into focus. She dropped the coat hanger and grabbed her key-card after she got dressed and headed out the door.

**Present Time**

Kai got off his bed when he heard a knock on his door. He walked over to see who was bothering him this late at night. He looked out and saw Nika standing there. He briefly considered not opening the door, but he wasn't really in the mood for being an ass-hole at that moment so… He opened his door, put his right hand on the door frame and looked down at her. "What do you -"

"You lied to me!" she snapped.

Kai stiffened. _"Did she figure out what happened today? No way! How could she have? Unless Tala or Ryan told her something…" _"What?"

"You said I got hit in the head with a baseball… What happened wasn't even remotely close to that! I was kidnapped!"

Kai relaxed a little and mentally breathed a sigh of relief. So his secret was still safe… at least for the moment. "I, uhh… Ouch! What the-!"

Nika threw all her weight into the punch she aimed at Kai's right shoulder. He dropped his arm and rotated his torso to lessen the severity of the blow. She used that opening to quickly slip into his room and get behind him.

"Oh no, no, no! Get out!" Kai growled crossly.

"Not until you give me some answers!"

"Why! What difference does it make now!" He snapped, angrily kicking the door closed behind him.

"Wha - What difference does it make? Are you kidding me! I was freaking kidnapped!" she shrieked.

"So what!" Kai yelled back at her. "It's done and over with now! You're here, you're fine and I can assure you it won't happen again. End of story. Now get the fuck out of my room!"

Nika crossed her arms across her chest. "No! And what do you mean by "it won't happen again'? How do you know that?"

"What do you care? Should it matter?" Kai asked tersely.

"Whether is should or not, it does matter to me. I was the one who was kidnapped Kai, me! Not you! Maybe you can deal with stuff like this better that me, I don't know. But I need to know what going on, and since you seem to know more than me, I need you to tell me about it! Please!"

Kai looked at her and sighed. She had tears in her eyes and he suddenly felt really bad for being so mean and curt with her. He motioned towards the chair in the corner of the room. "Sit down…" he said gently.

Nika walked over the chair and sat down, wiping her hand across her face. Kai sat on the bed across from her. "You need anything?" he asked.

"No, just answers."

"Yeah, I got that. Ok, so here's what happened…" Kai proceeded to tell Nika some 'on the spot' fabricated story about what happened to her. He kept the beginning and the end the same though in case she remembered any of that. "…They said that they gave you something to knock you out and that it would probably make the last 24hrs a little bit fuzzy and unclear. There shouldn't be any long-term effects from it though." he finished.

Nika stayed silent for a while. Kai didn't bother her… he knew she needed some time to process what he had told her. Hopefully, she believed it all. Finally, she spoke.

"How did you get the money they wanted?" she asked.

"I tapped into my savings. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Kai, $100,000.00 isn't chump-change! How the hell do you have that much money saved up at your age anyway?"

Kai shrugged. "My family left it for me. But who cares about that stuff anyway? All that matters now is that you're safe and relatively un-hurt."

"So… when those guys broke into my room, and you went to go check it out… did you find anything?"

"No. They just seemed to be after you."

"Do - Do you really think they'll leave me alone now?"

Kai looked at her. She was staring at him intently with fear in her eyes. He smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, They won't bother you anymore."

Nika sighed then gasped when she saw the clock on the nightstand. It was 12:25am. "Oh! I didn't realize how late is was! I'm so sorry!"

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm not tired anyway."

"Yeah, me neither…"

Kai studied her face for a moment. She seemed to be uneasy and tense about things but she did look tired, so she was probably lying about that. "You ok?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh, sure, yeah I'm fine thanks! I was just thinking about something."

"You're a lousy liar, ya know. You're tired as all hell for starters and you're certainly not fine. So what is it?"

Nika looked away. "It's nothing…"

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Nika…" he said sternly.

"It's just… I don't want to be alone tonight I guess. I don't feel safe by myself now." she said miserably.

"You don't… feel safe?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just must be over-tired. I didn't sleep much last night and… and I don't usually behave this way I'm sorry."

Kai stood up and moved over to the window. "Don't be sorry, I understand. Believe me, I understand…" he said softly. He turned to look at her. "You can stay here for the rest of the night if you want. You wont bother me."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I uh, can't usually sleep the night before my matches anyway." he lied convincingly.

Nika smiled a little. "Thanks, Kai."

After a little more talking, Nika got into the bed and snuggled down underneath the covers. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. Kai watched her from the chair, his mind unsettled. He really shouldn't have invited her to stay… it was kinda counterproductive to the big plan, but he couldn't just kick her out after she said what she said. He knew what it was like to feel unsafe in your own space… it was one of the reasons for some his problems. If it hadn't been for the few friend he had growing up, he probably would have gone insane and been institutionalized years ago...that was assuming he wouldn't have killed himself. He absentmindedly stroked the scars on his wrists as he sat there, remembering what it was like to truly feel alone and scared.

It took a few hours, but finally Kai started to relax a little. He had almost fallen asleep when Nika started to whimper softly. Kai stood up a walked around to see what was wrong. The girl was still sleeping, but now she was mumbling something in Russian. Kai couldn't really hear what she was saying, but he caught the words 'mom and dad' and 'I'm sorry' more than once. As whatever dream she was having became more intense, she started to cry.

Kai sat on the bed and gently placed his hand on Nika's shoulder. She awoke with a gasp and sat up. "No!" she said loudly before she realized she was awake now and that the dream was over.

Kai still sat next to her but he had taken his had away. "You ok now?" he asked after Nika took a few deep breaths to calm down. She nodded, but still looked pretty shaken up. "Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked gently. She paused, then shook her head. Kai sighed in resignation. "Ok…" he said as he started to stand up.

Nika felt Kai start to get up and quickly reached out to grab his hand. "Please… Don't go…" she said in a small, almost desperate voice.

Kai's breath caught in his chest when he heard her and he froze as her hand clasped his wrist. He turned his head a little and looked at her. Her eyes were wide and wet with unshed tears and she stared at him pleadingly. Kai took a deep breath and sat back down. He moved up the bed and shoved some of the pillows aside so that he could sit with his back on the headboard. "Ok. I wont." he said as he pulled the comforter over his legs. "I'm not going anywhere tonight… I promise."

**/ Ok so I know that's a little bit of a weird spot to leave off on, but this chapter was already getting a bit on the long side so I decided to cut it off there. Hopefully, the next chapter wont be far behind!. Please review and let me know what you think in the meantime. Thanks! \\**


	14. Chapter 14

_Nika felt Kai start to get up and quickly reached out to grab his hand. "Please… Don't go…" she said in a small, almost desperate voice. _

_Kai's breath caught in his chest when he heard her and he froze as her hand clasped his wrist. He turned his head a little and looked at her. Her eyes were wide and wet with unshed tears and she stared at him pleadingly. Kai took a deep breath and sat back down. He moved up the bed and shoved some of the pillows aside so that he could sit with his back on the headboard. "Ok. I wont." he said as he pulled the comforter over his legs. "I'm not going anywhere tonight… I promise." _

Nika watched him get settled and immediately felt much more relaxed. As soon as he sat quietly, she moved to his side and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you." she said.

Kai lightly draped his arm around the girl. "No problem. I know what it's like to not want to be alone."

"That's kinda funny because you usually give off the vibe that you do want to be alone." Nika said.

"Yeah, well it wasn't always that way. It's something that I learned over the years. It's easier to be alone when that's what you want. When you're forced to be alone but it's the last thing you want, it'll drive you insane over time."

Nika pulled her head off Kai's shoulder and looked at him. His eyes were staring across the room, unfocused like he was remembering something from a long time ago. "Hey, you still with me?" she asked him lightly.

He blinked. "Hm? Oh, yeah sorry."

Nika let her head rest on him again as they both became lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Kai broke the silence. "So what were you so upset about anyway? I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but sometimes it helps to let it out."

Nika shifted uncomfortably. "I… uhh… it was nothing. Just a bad dream, that's all."

"I kinda figured that with you crying in your sleep and everything. What was the dream about?"

Nika remained silent for a while. When she did finally speak, her voice was so soft and quite that Kai had a hard time hearing her. "My parents. I was dreaming about the day they died."

Kai shifted a little. "I'm sorry. When did they die?"

"About a year ago."

"How?"

"Plane crash." she answered shortly.

Kai sensed her discomfort and decided that he probably shouldn't pry. "I'm sorry." he said again.

Nika shrugged a little. "It's ok. It's not like it's your fault." She paused then muttered something under her breath.

Kai picked up on what she said and looked at her. "Did you just say it's your fault?"

"Yeah…"

"Why would you say that?"

"Because its true! If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have been on that plane and - " she choked back a sob. "They weren't supposed to leave that day but they changed their plans because of me."

Kai tilted his head a little. "What do you mean?"

Nika let out a shaky sigh. "I got into an argument with them over some vacation plans they had made. I didn't want to go with them and we got into this huge fight. They decided to leave early on their private jet to get away from my bitching at them. Can't say that I blamed them… I was being a real snot about it. Anyway, something happened with the navigation system in the plane and it went down. There were no survivors."

Kai sat silent, waiting for her to continue.

"I just cant help but think that if we went when they originally planned, they would still be here with me. Its my fault that they left when they did. Its my fault they died…" she trailed off.

Kai tightened his arm around her. "Hey, don't think like that. It's not all your fault. They decided to do something, and there was nothing you could have done to change that. Sure, your actions may have helped push them into making the decision that they did, but it was still theirs to make. Don't blame yourself… it's not healthy."

Nika pulled away from him slightly so she could look at him. "You know you're the first person to say that to me."

"Hm?"

"Most people tell me none of it was my fault. And that only makes it worse. I know that what happened was partly my fault, having people tell me it wasn't just makes me even more depressed. You actually understand what I'm feeling and you're not afraid to tell me what's on your mind."

Kai smiled a little. "Like I said before, I'm not nice enough to tell you lies to make you happy."

"Well, thank you...for being honest."

"No problem. Do you feel any better?"

"Yes, much." she paused. "Ya know, you should show this side of you more often. It's definitely more appealing than that "Ice King" façade you walk around with all the time. Why do you act that way anyway?"

Kai frowned. "It's… easier I guess."

"Easier? What do you mean by that?"

Kai shook his head. "I don't know. It sounds stupid but I guess it's almost like…" he paused, searching for the right words. "It's like a mask… something that you can hide behind. Plus it's the way I was raised. When I showed too much emotion, it was considered a weakness and that was unacceptable. But regardless of that, sometimes it's easier to hide who you really are than to let everyone in… it hurts too much when things don't work out."

"You should never have to hide who you are Kai." Nika said softly. She tilted her chin up so she could look him in the eye. "I mean it." As Kai turned to look at her, she felt her breath catch in her chest. He was the only person she had ever know who could do that to her. There was just something about him…he really was one of a kind.

When Kai looked at her he could feel his pulse quicken. Once again, his hormones were taking over, and before his rational side could kick in he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the girls lips.

Somewhere in the back of him mind, Kai was aware that he probably shouldn't be doing this, but he quickly pushed the thought aside. He was sick and tired of playing this game of denying his true feeling. For once, he was just going to do what he wanted. Besides, it was probably the last time he was even going to be able do this. After the tournament, it was all over…

He could tell that Nika hadn't expected the kiss… she hesitated a little before she started kissing him back, but soon they were both lost in the bliss of it all. Kai stated to let his hands roam over her body and she moaned softly whenever he touched a particularly sensitive spot on her skin. Pretty soon she started to explore his body as well. She lifted one hand up and ran it through his two-toned hair as her other hand slid under his shirt.

Kai's breath hitched a little when Nika's hand glided down his torso and settled on the waistband of his pants. He pulled away from the kiss and tugged Nika's shirt over her head, tossing it to the floor before his lips came crashing back to hers. Nika matched the force of his lips with hers as she pulled on his hair again, deepening the kiss even more.

Kai felt Nika start to pull on his shirt and broke the kiss again so he could take it off. He then pushed her back and rolled over so he was leaning over her. He paused slightly though as he looked down at her. His rational side was trying to kick in again and it was actually starting to override his hormones. Nika noticed his hesitation.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently as she played with his hair.

He shook his head. "Nothi-" He was abruptly cut off in the middle because Nika had pulled him down into another kiss. He groaned as one of her hands started to toy with the waistband of his pants, inching them lower on his hips. She had also bent one of her legs and was rubbing it gently on his inner thigh. She pulled away from the kiss and looked up at him.

"Ok, good. Do you want to stop?" she asked.

Kai smirked. "Hell no!" He quickly slid her pants down before he could change his mind.

* * *

Kai woke up around 8:00AM tangled in the bed sheets. Glancing to the right, he saw that Nika was still sleeping soundly, a content smile on her lips. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Sure, last night had been fun, but he was already starting to regret sleeping with the her. He had seriously messed up his whole plan for breaking off everything with the girl and the team.

"Damnit…" he muttered as he untangled himself from the sheets and got out of the bed. He found his pants on the floor under Nika's red satin bra. He picked both items up and pulled his pants on, placing the bra on the bed. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a small bottle of Vodka he had been able to smuggle in. He twisted the cap off and took a gulp, then almost choked on it in surprise when there was a soft knock on his door. Looking out, he saw Tala standing there, a slightly worried expression on his face.

Totally forgetting about how he looked, Kai quickly opened the door. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Where have you - whoa!" Tala was looking past Kai into the room. Kai turned to see what he was staring at and flushed bright red. Nika was still sleeping, but she had rolled over, giving the boys a great view of her naked ass.

Tala looked at Kai and arched an eyebrow at his disheveled appearance. "Uhhh…. Well that explains why I couldn't find you training this morning."

"Shut up Ivanov." Kai grumbled as took another swig of Vodka. He turned back into the room and grabbed the key card and his shirt off the floor. He pulled the shirt over his head as he walked out of the room. He wanted to talk to Tala without the red-head gawking at the girl in his bed.

Tala caught Kai's hand before it was able to pull the shirt all the way down. "She's a little rough huh?" he asked, pointing to the long, red, nail marks in his back and chest.

Kai jerked his hand away and finished pulling the shirt down. "None of your fucking business." he said.

Tala chuckled and shook his head. "You are so fucked up Hiwatari. Seriously though, did you have fun?" he asked annoyingly.

Kai growled under his breath. "Don't push me Tala."

"Fine fine! Sorry!" Tala held his hand up in front of him in mock surrender.

"Hn. Whatever. Did you need me for something?"

"Not really. Just got kinda concerned when I didn't see you around this morning. Thought you might have gone all emo or something after what happened yesterday. Plus Rei was looking for you. I think he was a little worried too."

"Well, now that you found me you can leave. And you can tell Rei that I'm fine and that he better have Tyson up and ready to go by 10:30." Kai turned back towards his room and swiped the card in the door. He opened it and walked back in the room.

"Hey! I'm not your errand boy!" Tala said indignantly. "You wanna tell Rei something, do it yourse-"

Kai shut the door in his face mid-sentence.

Tala just stood there for a few moments, then he shook his head. "Real nice Kai…" he muttered as he walked off to find Rei. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

* * *

Well, this was something new for me… my first 'kinda' love scene. Please lemme know how I did? I've never tried to write a love scene before so I'm sure it could have been better. Reviews? Thanks!


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